Blood is Thicker than Water
by Darkest Original
Summary: What do you do when everything around you seems so unfair? What do you do when all your friends are in danger from an unimaginable force? When the only way to save a family member may be at the risk of your own life? After so many times of everyone telling you that you can't help only because you're a normal human, you'd get desperate to help too. You would do exactly what I did...
1. Prologue

AN: There is a theme in this story that has been used many times before in other stories but just bare with me through it. I love reviews but I also love it when you give me constructive criticism to help me write better.

I heard that my other story _In the Darkness _has been nominated for best villain in the Burning Diamond awards so please go vote at crossoerawards . blogspot . ca (take out the periods)

Prologue

My name is Isabella Marie Swan and I know about the existence of supernatural creatures.

I know that there is a tribe of shape shifters in my town of Forks which change into wolves whenever they want. But there are real werewolves around the world too; the kind that is at the mercy of the full moon and really can be hurt by wolfsbane.

I also know that there are two types of vampires in this strange world of ours. But I wish I would've known that before meeting the Cullen's, it would've helped a lot more and I could've done so many things so differently.

But I guess that things always happen for a reason, I just don't know what this reason will be yet. Maybe my experiences will teach me to stand up for myself once in a while. To know what exactly to sacrifice for who.


	2. Fighter Part 1

**AN: This story takes place before the break up in New Moon and after The Descent but before Daddy Issues in the Vampire Diaries. Damon does like Elena but doesn't love her; he only likes to like her because she looks like Katherine and because he wants what Stefan has. **

**These first two chapters are about how the gang has met each other and to give some background on what has happened. They take place two years before Bella has met the Cullen's and before Elena realizes that Stefan is a vampire or that Bonnie knows that she is a witch. Elena's parents have just passed away and she is trying to adjust to being around people again. **

* * *

Ch.1 - Fighter Part 1

_Makes me that much stronger  
makes me work a little bit harder  
it makes me that much wiser  
so thanks for making me a fighter  
__**Fighter – Christina Aguilera**_

_Mystic Falls, 2009_

"Dad, can you grab my coffee?" I shout back to the truck while I shoulder open the door to the hotel room in Mystic Falls.

I hear a faint "sure" as I set my two duffle bags on one of the two beds with a huff. We have more than enough stuff to stay in this town for a week but my friend from Phoenix would disagree. In one of the bags is my journal and books while the other bag is for clothes.

I'm unpacking my bags and putting my clothes in their respective spots when Charlie comes into the hotel room with the rest of his stuff and my coffee. I practically lunge towards him to get my coffee which is thankfully still warm. I swear I'm addicted to this stuff since it's the only thing that can keep me functioning.

"So when are you going to meet with Serif Forbes to go over all of the evidence?" I ask Charlie in between gulps on coffee.

He looks at his watch before answering, "In a couple minutes. Actually I should get going or else I'm going to be late. I'll see you later Bella and be careful." He says as he rushes out the door.

I just nod, only half listening since he already gave me this speech while on the drive from the airport. Right now I'm supposed to go and meet new friends but I think I'll just walk around town.

I leave the hotel room but not before making sure that I have the key to the hotel room, my phone and my wallet all on me. The town seems really quiet even though it is a Saturday, I thought that there would be more people out and about but maybe they are doing something today. I come across a place called the Mystic Grill and I take a quick peek inside the window. It seems that everyone is inside hanging out. This must be the place where everyone meets and hangs out.

I go inside and try to find a spot but all of the booths are full and I don't really want to go and sit at the bar. There are pool tables on one side of the room and a bar on the other with booths and tables between both.

I'm about to turn to leave and keep up my exploration of the town when someone walks up to me. The girl has long brown hair like me but her hair is ruler straight while mine has a slight wave to it. Her eyes are brown like mine too and we even have a similar face structure, we could almost be twins if seen from the back we look so much alike.

The girl smiles and her smile lights up her eyes, "My name is Elena Gilbert, and this is Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennett. We saw you standing here and wanted to invite you to sit with us."

I glance towards the blonde haired girl Elena called Caroline. Her hair is a curly blonde with light green eyes and a friendly expression and is taller than both her friends. I turn my gaze towards Bonnie next. She has dark skin with tightly curled dark brown hair and brown eyes and is the smallest of the trio. Her eyes are narrowed at me and her arms are crossed in front of her to give off an intimidating stance.

"Sure," I say and follow them to a newly opened booth in the corner. Caroline and Bonnie sit together on one side while I sit on outside of the other side of the booth with Elena. I want an easy way to get out if need be.

"So what's your name?" Caroline asks in a cheerful voice.

"Bella Swan," I say with much less cheer than her.

"Are you new here?" Elena asks curiously, "I haven't seen you around town before."

"No, I'm just visiting here with my dad, Charlie Swan. He's h-" I'm cut off before I can finish my sentence.

"Charlie Swan? You guys are here to help with the animal problem right?" Caroline says. How did she know that? From what Charlie told me only himself, Sheriff Forbes, and myself know the real reason for the visit.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" I place my arms on the table and clasp my hands.

"My mom was telling me about it. She went to go over the evidence with your dad about twenty minutes ago."

I feel like such an idiot. Of course in a town this small people with the same last names would be related to each other.

"How long are you staying here?" Bonnie speaks for the first time since I met the girls and I'm surprised at the hostility in her voice.

"Only a week but it seems way to long," I stop at the confusion and hurt on their faces. "It's not that I don't like this town, I actually find it really nice. It's just that my friends and I were planning on driving to the Hover Dam and then to Los Angeles to go sightseeing and I really wanted to do that but then my dad said that I had to come with him."

"That would've been an awesome trip," Elena tries to be empathetic and I give her a small smile for trying.

We talk more about the different trips we've been on and I notice that Elena seems to be the leader of the three girls and Caroline the one that can easily distract people. Caroline has pulled Elena out of her thoughts more than once and I can't help but wonder what that is about. Bonnie seems to be the one that doesn't have many friends but what friends she does have are true friends, like in movies. I try to get through her walls but they must be made from titanium since I can't even crack them.

I've been feeling that someone has been watching me for a little while and I turn in my seat to search the crowd. My eyes land on a tall man with black hair that falls into his eyes and striking blue eyes gazing straight at me. He is wearing a leather jacket over a black T-shirt with dark wash jeans. I quickly turn back around to ask the other girls about that man. "Who is that man in all black clothes with black hair behind me?" I ask nudging my head in the direction he is standing.

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie all turn at once to look at the man and I roll my eyes at their obviousness. "That's Damon Salvatore; he's the older brother to Stefan Salvatore who I'm dating." Elena says once she turns her eyes back to me.

I nod my head to show that I'm listening as I glance at the clock on my phone. Charlie's going to worry if I don't leave soon.

"It was fun talking to you all but I have to go or else my dad will start to worry." I explain to them as I start to stand.

"You're a really nice girl Bella. If you ever want to hang out sometime with us this week just call us," Caroline says as she writes her phone number on a napkin. Elena nods her head in agreement and then writes her number and then Bonnie grudgingly writes her number after them.

"I will," I promise the girls before grabbing the napkin and heading out of the grill and towards the hotel for the night.

I still feel like I'm being watched but whenever I turn to look behind me, no one is there. I pick up my speed and can see the hotel at the end of the block when the fog rolls in. It wasn't there before and it just suddenly appears. I stumble in my stride to look around me and see that there is fog all around me. The feeling of being watched intensifies and I whip my head from side to side to take in my surroundings but I can't see much since the fog conveniently rolled in. I start jogging now to get to the hotel and I only feel slightly better once I'm inside my hotel room with the door locked.

But the feeling of being watched never fades.

This past week has passed much more quickly than I would've thought. But that might be because I had Elena, Caroline and Bonnie to spend it with. I've learned that Caroline's dad left her mom because he is gay and that Elena lost both her parents in a car crash that almost killed her a couple months ago. I didn't learn much about Bonnie except that she usually isn't that cold to anyone that I learned from going shopping alone with Caroline.

Caroline and I are really good friends since we understand the strain that comes with one parent being a cop. We never know if our parent will come home or if they will be shot and we have to go to the hospital to talk to the doctors. And then we know how it feels to have to go and visit our other parent that is married to someone else.

Elena and I are also friends because it is so easy to talk to her and get along with her. It's like we've known each other forever and have just seen each other again.

But also in this past week the feeling of being watched has never faded. There have been no more weird instances with fog or anything like that but I still feel like someone is watching me.

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**AN: Thanks for reading this chapter! Leave me a review to tell me what you thought!**


	3. Fighter Part 2

Ch.1– Fighter Part 2

_Made me learn a little bit faster  
Made my skin a little bit thicker  
Makes me that much smarter  
So thanks for making me a fighter_  
_**Fighter – Christina Aguilera**_

_Mystic Falls, 2009_

I grab my sweater and room key before leaving the room and heading out towards the forest. Whenever I stay in Forks I like to go for a quiet walk to think about things or to just relax and I haven't been able to do that here yet.

The woods look similar to the ones in Forks but that probably because almost all forests look similar to each other. But here there is no constant pitter patter of the rain falling against the leaves; instead the sunshine tries to reach through the foliage to brighten up the forest floor.

After walking for a couple minutes I sit down on the nearest log and just relax. I have almost fallen asleep due to the gentle sounds of the winds whispering through the trees and the birds and animals moving around. But then I hear footsteps breaking the odd twigs that are lying on the ground and my eyes snap open.

Damon Salvatore is coming through the trees with a smirk on his face. His steps are purposeful like he either really knows the forest or followed me here. He is wearing the same leather jacket that he did when he was in the Grill and dark wash jeans and a black T-shirt.

"What is a pretty lady like you doing in the forest all alone?" He asks before sitting down on the log across from me.

A weird pull tugs from just below my rib cage so soft that if I had my mind on something else I wouldn't have felt it. I raise an eyebrow at him incredulously. "I could ask the same thing about you."

"But without the 'lady' part of course." He adds.

I give him a big fake smile and say, "No."

His arrogant smile drops and he frowns at me. "You know, it's not nice to insult people." He informs me.

"I know, just like it's not very nice to intrude on someone who is trying to enjoy the beauty of nature." I give him a pointed look.

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm _enjoying_ the beauty of nature," he says sarcastically. Damon then crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against a tree truck.

"You do that," I say and look around us. Then I pause as a thought enters my head, "What exactly are you doing out here anyway?"

His expression changes from a sarcastic grin to an emotionless mask. He opens his mouth and is about to speak when more twigs crack. I turn my head in that direction and see a small blonde haired girl stumble into view, almost as if she is drunk. But who is drunk at two in the afternoon?

She starts giggling and launches herself at Damon. I try to turn my gaze away before I see something that I don't want to but I'm too late. The girl has moved her hair off her left shoulder, allowing me to see her neck which has a bite mark with blood trickling down the side of her neck.

I gasp out loud at the mark. I'm about to ask her what happened when she speaks in an annoyingly high voice, "Aren't you going to take another bite?"

My mind doesn't really connect the two pieces of information for a couple seconds but it soon does. Is this some kind of stupid ritual? If it is that's disgusting. I'm still turning over this piece of information in my mind but I know that I need to get out of here immediately.

I lurch to my feet and practically run towards the path that I had taken to come here. I thought that I was quiet when I was trying to escape but I must be wrong because I'm grabbed by my shoulders and pulled roughly back. In a blink of an eye I'm roughly pressed up against a tree and the grip on my shoulders doesn't loosen one bit. I squirm against the hold and try to get away but nothing works. My eyes had closed sometime during the confrontation so I quickly open them to see Damon with a transformed face.

The veins beneath his eyes have grown more prominent and his eyes have turned red around the irises. His canine teeth have elongated and his mouth is opened in a hiss. "You aren't leaving," he hisses. The pull strengthens and it seems to be pulling me towards Damon but that is just crazy and weird. I don't even know him and he just transformed into a monster, the pull is not leading me towards him. I'm just getting sick, yup.

"Yes I am," I hiss back at him and start my struggles with twice as much force. I slap at his hands and try to pry them off my shoulders but they do not loosen at all. He slams me back into the tree and my head bounces a little.

"Listen to me and I'll explain everything," Damon bargains with me.

"No!"

"Please," he says and I stop in shock. I meet his eyes and it seems that he can't believe what he just said either.

"Promise?" I ask hesitantly, still ready to fight with a second's notice.

"Promise," he says.

The fight drains from me and I nod my head slowly in acceptance. I realize that I can't escape from his hold on me and he can run faster than me since he got out from under that girl and was able to grab me before I took more than five steps.

Damon lets go of my shoulder but grabs my hand and pulls me back to the logs that we were sitting on. The blonde girl is lying on the forest floor with her eyes closed. My heartbeat picked up at the thought of her being dead but then I see her chest rise and fall with her steady breathes and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Damon sits next to me on the log with my hands still clasped between his and his eyes staring steadily into mine.

"What is your name?" Damon asks me. I notice that his face has changed back to its original form and my jaw unlocks to speak.

"Bella Swan and yours is Damon Salvatore." I say in a voice that is just above a whisper.

He looks shocked for a second before he smiles slowly, "Elena told you that night in the Grill."

I nod my head and then my gaze moves pointedly from him to the girl and back again. He sighs before speaking, "It's a long story but I will tell you. I don't break my promises."

So he tells me about his life in 1864and his thoughts of being in the war and of his father and his brother, who is really Stefan. Katherine comes soon after and all of the problems and feelings that came with her. It feels like reading a book from the amount of detail that he goes into about the vampire purge in Mystic Falls in 1864 and the hunger that came with being changed into a vampire. That is what he is. A creature of the night that can't come into any place that is being lived in without an invitation and also burns in the sun without a spelled object, like his ring. Damon tells me that he can be hurt when swallowing or having their skin touch vervain, a special herb. He tells me about compulsion and how only vervain can prevent it and the fact that his brother grows vervain in their house so that Damon can give it to the Council.

The Council is a secret foundation made of only the founding families who know of the existence of vampires. Damon skips over many of the years he has lived to tell me about how he has been annoying his brother by trying to get his girl and causing trouble for the town. I laugh at that and he looks at me confused. I then explain that it seems just like him to try to cause trouble just for fun. Damon seems still shocked that I'm not freaking out but that is just who I am, I think things through and then decide whether to freak out or not.

"Wait; is the animal problem here real?" I ask.

"Yes it is. A couple of months ago I stopped killing off town members when they got too close to figuring out what I am but don't worry, Stefan is taking care of the problem." He says and leans back on his arms on the log.

"What do you mean by that?" I'm getting tired of asking question but this is the only way to completely understand everything.

"Stefan has a strict animal diet while I drink from blood bags or straight from the source and then compel the person to forget." He explains.

I nod my head in understanding and another question pops into my head. "Does Elena know what you guys are?"

Damon shakes his head. "Stefan doesn't want to tell her but I keep telling him that she will figure it out sooner or later. Now am I going to have to compel you to forget all of this or are you going to keep your mouth shut?"

I roll my eyes at the question. Doesn't the answer seem obvious? "I won't tell your little secret," I tease him. I go to grab my phone but realize that I left it back at the hotel. Instead I look at the sky and try to figure out what time it is. The sky is dark but I really have no clue what time it is. "I should go before Charlie worries about where I am."

I get up and am about to start walking away when I realize something. I turn around to speak to him face to face, "Can I have your number so that I can call you to ask you questions?"

"Sure but you can call me for other things to you know." Damon hints with a wink and lavish smile.

"No thank you," I shake my head in exasperation.

He gives me the number on a piece of paper and my eyes drift down to the girl that I still lying on the floor unconscious. "You're not going to kill her, are you?" I ask hesitantly.

"No, I'm just going to compel her to forget." Damon says and then I walk back to the hotel, all the while the pull loosens and loosens until it disappears. I don't think about it again.

* * *

Yesterday I learned all about vampires from Damon Salvatore and today I'm going back to Forks with my dad. I don't really want to leave because I want to learn more but at the same time I want to go home so that I have the space to think about things.

I'm waiting for my plane with Charlie sitting beside me as I toy with the necklace that Damon gave me today. Earlier today Damon had stopped by the hotel and gave me the old golden locket with Celtic knots engraved into it. He said that he had put vervain inside it so that I won't be able to be compelled to do things. It seems that I had somehow gotten through Damon's hard exterior and made him want to keep me protected for some reason.

I'm actually really glad that Charlie brought me with him to Mystic Falls. If he didn't then I wouldn't have met Elena, Caroline and Bonnie and then I wouldn't have met Damon and found out the existence of vampires and other supernatural creatures.

I notice the line that is starting at the gate to get on our plane and my heart gives a little clench at the thought of leaving my friends. Even though I didn't know them for long, I'm going to miss them a lot. Even the sarcastic Damon. When I think about Damon I get little butterflies in the pit of my stomach and I feel warm all over.

I ponder what this means and only come to the conclusion when I sit down in my seat on the plane. I have more than friendship feelings for Damon but I'm not going to act on it. I probably just have feelings because of the secrets he has told me and because I feel pretty special because he told me instead of compelling me.

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**AN: Thanks to everyone for reading this new story of mine so far. I'm glad that you like it. I think that I'm going to update once a week, probably either on Wednesday's or Sunday's because the others days are just too busy for me.**

**One more thing, I have been nominated in The Burning Diamond Awards for best villain for my other story _In the Darkness. _Please go and vote for me and the other amazing stories that were nominated.**

**crossover . awards . com (just remove the spaces) Voting is open until December 29th so go and vote!**

**Last thing, please leave me a review! They make my day and anyone who does review will get a sneak peak of the next chapter!**


	4. I Need a Doctor

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and favorites, they make me so happy. I'm sorry this is a little late but better late than never. **

**I do not own Vampire Diaries or Twilight; they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**See you at the bottom...**

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Ch.2 – I Need a Doctor

_I'm about to lose my mind  
you've been gone for so long  
I'm running out of time  
I need a doctor  
call me a doctor  
I need a doctor, doctor  
to bring me back to life_

_**I Need a Doctor by Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey**_

September 14, 2012

I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen today. I tell myself that I'm just over tired or suspicious but something deep inside me says that it's neither. All day I've seen things that only make this feeling grow stronger, like Edward's unemotional eyes. Whenever I would try to grab his hand, he would pull away and his voice isn't just unemotional, it's completely bored. Almost as if he is trying to silently telling me that I'm boring him and should just leave.

But how can this be when only yesterday Edward was holding me close to him and telling me exactly how much he loves me. Is it even possible to do a complete 180 in less than one day?

Last night was my horrific birthday party where I did the worst thing possible in a house full of vampires, I started bleeding. I had accidently cut my finger on the corner of one of the unnecessary presents from the Cullen's and Jasper was immediately attracted to my blood. When Jasper tried to attack, Edward flung me into the table covered in glass figurines behind me and causing my right arm to be cut up. Something about that entire situation has been bugging me for some reason but I don't know exactly what, yet.

I sigh as I turn my car onto my street, all this thinking has just made me more confused than ever. Edward wanted to meet me at my house instead of coming with me, which is strange since he always comes with me. He thinks that if I'm alone for even a minute, I'll somehow injure myself even though before I met him I was very graceful.

In front of my house is an old blue Chevy Camaro and my mind automatically goes through a list of names that might own that car. I don't come up with one that would fit so I keep my mind open for anything.

I pull up beside the car and grab my bag before slowly getting out of the car. My hand clutching the door handle just in case I need to get inside and grab the stake under the driver's seat. The driver's door of the car opens and I see a familiar mess of black hair and a leather jacket step out of the car. "Damon?"

He turns around wearing his signature smirk and says, "Hello Bella." He look exactly the same as he did two years ago and I'm betting that the leather jacket is even the same one. But for some reason his eyes seem to hold more secrets than ever. I'm going to have to get him to spill them later.

I blink rapidly while moving around his car, "What are you doing here?" Damon didn't tell me that he was coming to Forks when he called me a couple days ago but then again, he didn't know that I live here. Ever since I found out that he was a vampire two years ago, we became fast friends over the phone. And so did Caroline, Elena and I. We all call each other at least once or twice a week to talk about girl things but I can't tell them about all the drama here because they can't know.

"I came to help with the," he pauses and looks around dramatically, "animal problem." He finishes in a dramatic whisper.

I roll my eyes but the effect is lost since I'm smiling at his antics. The magnetic pull is back in place now and grows stronger as I step closer to Damon but I can easily ignore it.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Damon asks me. I never did call him these last couple months so he didn't know that I had moved.

"I moved here in January to give Renee and her new husband some space," I glance down at the car for a second. "Now what type of car is this?" I ask in a fake disgusted tone.

Damon's right hand darts up to cover his heart in mock hurt, "I'll have you know it is a classic 1967 Chevy Camaro, I've had this baby for many years."

I try to hold in the giggles but don't succeed because a few giggles escape before my hand covers my mouth.

"Aren't you going to give me a hug?" He asks and does his weird eye thing. "You know you want to."

I laugh loudly but nod and give him a tight hug that he returns, "Sorry it took so long, but I was bashing your choice in vehicles."

"Hey, you can't say anything, look at what you drive." He says and points behind me to my truck. I shrug and give him a smile. A rustling of leaves catches my attention and I glance behind me and past my truck. Edward slowly walks out of the forest, eyes as hard and cold as they were all day.

"Bella," Edward says slowly and precisely, "who is this?"

I turn around completely and tilt my head in confusion at his tone, has he gotten a personality transplant? Where is the nice and courteous man that I've known for the last eight months? Or even two days ago?

Damon nudges me in the back to remind me to answer Edward. "Edward this is D-" I'm cut off suddenly by Damon moving from behind me to shake my boyfriend's hand.

"Damon Salvatore, and don't get on my bad side. I've been known to tear out a few hearts in my lifetime." I was thinking that the two men would squeeze each other's hands to show dominance but thankfully they don't.

"Damon this is my boyfriend Edward Cullen," I put in before Edward can say something. Damon looks at me and I can't figure out his expression.

"It's nice to meet you," Edward's voice is still the flat tone that I've been hearing all day and there isn't much hope in my mind that he will turn back to the man his was two days ago by the end of the night. "Bella, will you take a walk with me."

I open my mouth to object but Edward talks over me, "We won't go far or be gone long."

"Alright," I agree. "Damon you are welcome into my house, I'll be back soon."

Damon turns to look at me and raises an eyebrow in question. Subtly I reach up and tuck my hair behind my ear and tap the earlobe twice quickly. He nods slightly in acknowledgement before turning and going into the house.

One of the times that I had spoken to Damon on the phone we came up with a signal that would tell him if I wanted him to listen in to my conversations or not. We made it natural enough to seem normal but different enough that Damon would know the difference between tucking my hair behind my ears and the signal.

Edward is already at the tree line beside my house and waiting expectantly on me. I shove my hands into my jacket pocket and quickly follow him a few feet into the forest.

"My family and I are leaving Forks tonight," Edward blurts out suddenly.

"Well, can't we – wait, you don't mean me do you?" A feeling of dread fills my stomach.

"No."

"Why?" My voice chokes on the word.

He laughs coldly at me. A full blown laugh too, with his head titled back and not a small half-laugh.

"Carlisle can barely pass for thirty and he's claiming to be forty, it's time we move on."

I shake my head in denial at that stupid excuse, "I don't believe that. If it was true, you would've moved over the summer."

He stalks towards me slowly, like a predator would with his prey. I take a step back automatically but he just keeps coming until there is less than a foot of space between us.

"You want the truth, the blatant truth?" I try to look for the Edward I know in his eyes but all I see is a bottomless pit.

I nod slowly and gather my courage. I don't want to be a scared little girl.

"I never loved you, all you were to me and my family was someone we could play with. You were just a toy for our recreational purposes and when that was done," he leans in close to my face and says in my ear, "we were going to drain you dry."

The shock of the situation crashes down on me completely now. I start shaking a little and a lump is lodged into my throat. I swallow hard to get rid of it momentarily, "Then why haven't you drained me?" I ask in a loud, angry voice.

"You're the chief's daughter, and if you suddenly disappear and my family does too, there will be questions and accusations that we won't be able to answer. Then we will have to hide for many years." He gives me a fake smile and it is so cruel and cold that I immediately back up another step.

"You are so useless, just a petty human. But you should know that you will not ever see any of us ever again." Edward snarls the words out, his eyes start to fill with such hatred that the breath is knocked out of me. Or is it because I thought that he loved me?

My knees are shaking badly now and I'm worried that I'm going to collapse under the grief that is flooding my body. I close my eyes tightly, not wanting to see the man that I used to know filled with so much hatred and anger. My eyes are hot and prickly and I can feel the tears just waiting to be released but I try to hold them at bay. Hearing a faint rustle amongst the leaves, I open my eyes but see that Edward has left me.

I don't even think that Da – wait, Damon is here. I told him to listen in so he must've heard what had just happened. But why isn't he here yet? Maybe he isn't listening to give me privacy but the Damon I know never gives people privacy.

"Damon," I say in a voice louder than normal but not quite a scream yet.

A rush of wind blows my hair around my face and I feel myself being picked up. One of Damon's arms is under my knees, and the other is under my neck. My eyes are open so I can see the blurring of the trees and the house in front of us before Damon sits down on the couch with me still in his arms. Something wet is on my cheek and by the time I realize that I'm crying huge gasping sobs are wracking through my body.

"Shh, Bella, don't cry for that bastard. I should go kill him for hurting you, I should." Damon says as he rocks me slowly back and forth. I was swallowed in grief but his last sentence is like cold water being thrown into my face, waking me from my brief zombie-like faze.

I shake my head roughly back and forth, "No!" I shout and I pull back to look Damon in the eyes. His ice blue eyes are confused at my outburst. "He's not human, Damon."

"I figured that out the second I saw him, Bella. He's a Cold One and Cold Ones are all selfish and manipulating." Damon has stopped rocking me and moves his hands up to my upper arms. "How long have you known them?"

"Um, I've known them since I moved here in January. I met Edward is biology class and his eyes had turned black and his grip on the table had caused it to creak in protest. I had suspicions that they were vampires but since they were so cold and their eyes were so strange I dismissed it. But when a friend of mine from the reservation told me the legend about Cold Ones, I knew immediately what they were."

I take a deep breath and deal with my grief quickly but efficiently so that it won't sneak up on me again, "I was going to call you to ask you if you've ever heard of them but I thought that you might have something more important to deal with. I decided to confront him because it was too hard to ignore him since he was my lab partner. He confirmed what I thought and I fell hard for him."

I give a chocked laugh, "A couple months later I was invited to vampire baseball and some nomads crashed the party. One of them was a tracker and decided to track me. The Cullen's got me out a fast as they could but he was already after me so they helped me run to Phoenix. The tracker, James, called me and told me that he had my mother and I foolishly believed him. But I took a stake with me in case it was a trick. You wouldn't believe my surprise when I found out that I couldn't use a stake on him and that the vervain I put in my pepper spray can only annoyed him." I laugh harshly and roll my eyes at my own stupidity. "But it wasn't really my fault that I thought I could kill him, it was the Cullen's for not telling me how to kill their kind and unfortunately I can't tear them apart."

Absentmindedly I've been rubbing at my right wrist and I only notice when Damon grabs it. He gasps at the temperature difference of the skin compared to my regular skin. He shoves my sweater up roughly and growls quietly at the teeth mark. "How did this get here?"

"James broke my leg, some of my ribs, and bit me and I was already into the transformation by the time the Cullen's showed up. Luckily they didn't want me enough to let me change," I spit the words out in anger. I'm done feeling sad and weak. "Edward sucked the venom out but almost killed me in the process."

The quietness in the house seems so wide and large after my little confession. I'm almost scared of Damon's reaction but deep down I know that he wouldn't hurt me, especially if he gave me a necklace full of vervain.

"You're such an idiot," he whispers fiercely in the quiet. His eyes lock with mine and I can see the rage in his eyes at what happened to me.

"Excuse me?" I ask incredulity.

He brings up one hand and points a finger in my face. "You are an idiot because you did not call me when you were in trouble."

I open my mouth to object but he shakes his finger back and forth in a 'no, no' fashion. "No excuses, you should've called me because my kind is more than three times stronger than some sparkly Cold Ones. And now you have to promise that you will call me no matter what, even if you think you will be interrupting something important. Even if you are pregnant, okay?"

I nod but don't really agree. It's nice to know that he can help me with my problems but I like to deal with them on my own before asking for help. That's how I've always been.

I must've been lost in my thoughts during the last part of Damon's speech but now it makes itself known to me. "I wouldn't get pregnant!" I practically shout into his face in shock. He winces at the volume since I'm so close to him and I lower my voice. "But thanks for telling me. Now why are you really here?"

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**AN: What'd you think? Tell me in a review! I have the next couple of chapters already written out so hopefully I'll update on Sunday. See you then.**


	5. Impossible

**AN: Thanks for all of the reviews and to everyone who added me to their favorites or follows list. It means a lot to me and makes me happy that you all like my story. **

**I don't own Vampire Diaries or Twilight; they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Carry on...**

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Ch.3 – Impossible

_It seems impossible  
__For me to let this go  
__Feel like an animal  
__I'm ready to lose control_

_**Impossible by Manafest**_

Damon sighs and rolls his eyes good naturedly at me. "Charlie called me this morning about some animal attacks on kids and asked for my help."

"Wait, when you say animal attacks do you mean real animal attacks or drained of blood animal attacks?" I ask as I get off his lap and move to sit on his right side.

"It appears one of your Cullen friends lost control last night and killed a car full of tourists." Damon raises one eyebrow at me in question but I shake my head, silently telling him I had no idea.

"Why would they do that?" I ask in shock.

"I don't know I'm not a mind reader." I flinch slightly at the word.

It seems like someone has ripped a tiny fragment of my heart from my chest and it is filled with my pain and confusion. I didn't notice it before because I was focused on speaking with Damon but now I know that this hole was created the minute that Edward left.

"Do you know where they were last night by chance?" Damon is watching me carefully for my reaction.

It suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks. "Last night I was over at their house for my unwanted birthday party. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Edward all thought I needed to celebrate even thought I didn't want to. Anyway when I was opening one of the presents, I gave myself a paper cut and Jasper went crazy. He tried to attack me but Edward flung me away and unfortunately into the glass figurines set on a table by the far wall." I take off my zippered sweater and show Damon the underside of my arm which had needed stitches. "Carlisle fixed me up when everyone left and then Edward drove me home. I only saw Edward today at school but I assumed that everyone else was having a day to themselves."

"Then one of the sparkly losers must have went to quench their thirst on some unsuspecting tourists," Damon says with complete certainty that I can't disagree with.

"You're right, especially since they've been denying themselves their natural diet."

Damon nods at my answer, his gaze still locked onto my injured arm. "Why did you flinch when I said mind reader?"

My eyes widen, I can't believe that I didn't tell him about their powers. I hesitate for a moment before realizing that the Cullen's _left _me. If they didn't want me to spill their secrets, they should've killed me. Also, Damon's one of my best friends, I don't keep much of anything from him. "The Cullen's had three people that were gifted in their family. Alice could see the future, Jasper could sense and manipulate other's emotions and Edward could read you current thoughts." The pain that I have been ignoring since Edward left comes back in a wave and my will almost crumbles over it but I won't let it. I won't let a break up defeat me, I'm stronger than that.

Damon must see the pain in my eyes because he says, "It'll get easier in time and the only reason it will be because you acknowledged it and accepted that you can't change anything." I know that he is thinking of Katherine when he says this because of the faraway look he gets in his eyes.

"But I have accepted it," I whine. "It may hurt that I loved him and he still left me but what hurts more is the fact that he rubbed in my face that I'm only human and can't do anything."

Damon doesn't have anything to say to that. It's true that I may be hurting over Edward but I'm not devastated for two reasons. A, I'm stronger than Edward thought I could be and B, because of the slight crush on Damon. I have had this crush since I left Mystic Falls two years ago and it hasn't increased or decreased any. Mostly I ignore it when I talk to Damon but it is there.

"You know…" Damon trails off.

I look up and lock gazes with him, "Hmm?" I ask.

"I think that you've had more life threatening situations in the past couple months than I have been in and that's saying a lot." Damon has turned back to his sarcastic side and I'm thankful for that. I need someone to take my mind off of things.

"I hardly believe that."

**~Three Days Later~**

I can hear Charlie and Damon talking in the kitchen while eating their breakfast while I get ready for the day. I put on some regular blue jeans and T-shirt and leave my hair down before going downstairs to make myself some breakfast.

"Good morning," I say politely to both Charlie and Damon.

They both grunt their good mornings before taking a sip from their beers. I roll my eyes at their similarity while I make some cereal for myself. I sit down in the chair between the two men and we sit in silence while we all eat.

I glance over at Charlie and suddenly I'm not seeing Charlie eating toast, I'm seeing him polishing his gun with a beer beside him. I blink a couple of times and Charlie is back to eating his toast, oblivious to the fact that I'm having flash backs. I scan the room and my gaze lands on the staircase where I see another me hurrying down them with a bag on her shoulder, talking to Charlie while making sure not to trip.

My heart is pounding in my chest and my eyes are so wide that they are starting to hurt. Damon looks at me in confusion at obviously hearing my ridiculously loud heartbeat but I don't focus on him. All I see are all of the memories from the last couple of months playing out throughout the house. The time Edward helped me with dishes after having dinner with Charlie and when Edward and Charlie watched a game on the TV. There is another me but this time she is talking to Edward while watching Romeo and Juliet and then finally there is a third me walking into the house with a bandage on her arm, searching for some pain killers.

I must be going crazy. That is the only explanation for seeing all of these flashback that I can come up with, I mean, this has never happened before so why now? I shake my head back and forth quickly to dislodge the images from my brain.

"Bella?" Damon asks as he waves a hand in front of my face to gain my attention, his blue eyes worried.

"Bells, are you alright kiddo?" Charlie asks me in a concerned voice.

"Yeah," I say in a distracted voice before staring down at my half eaten cereal, not wanting to see any more flashbacks. Slowly I pick up my spoon and start pushing my cereal back and forth with no purpose, just something to keep my mind occupied for however long it will. Reaching for my glass of juice I notice the bandages on my right arm.

The bandage reminds me of the night of my birthday and some questions pop up in my mind now that I think about it. Did Alice see me get my paper cut before I really did? If she did then why didn't she pull the present from my grip right before? No, she probably didn't see the paper cut because it might not have happened but what if she saw it?

But her visions aren't always subjective like when she can tell weeks before when it will be sunny. The weather is always changing so if her visions were subjective then she wouldn't be able to tell if it will be sunny all day until that day or even the day before. Or maybe she was faking knowing when the sunny days were going to be? But that doesn't seem like Alice, and Edward and Jasper would know if she was lying. Useless they were going along with it.

_If_ and this is a big _if_, Alice did have solid visions then she would've seen the ending to my birthday party. That's why she was pushing so much for a party! She knew exactly what was going to happen and when. Now that I think about it, the only place in the house that had class figurines that night was on the table that was conveniently placed behind me when I opened the gifts.

If what I know about that night is different then what I thought I knew, then what else is different? Can all my experiences with the Cullen's have different meanings?

Emmett was always teasing me relentlessly but was that really teasing? Was he just making it look like teasing so that he would seem like a nice and funny guy?

And what about Esme, did she really like me or was that just an act too? She was always cooking something for me but what if it was cooked wrong? No, I can't think like that. Even though Edward said they were using me, I don't believe that they would really poison me. Especially if they were going to drain me dry like Edward had also said to me three days ago.

Carlisle was like a second father to me so it hurts knowing that he knew all along what was happening. I can't help but think that maybe he was threatened to act like a loving parental figure but why would someone threaten him? That's probably wrong but the little girl in me can't help but make excuses for all of them. But I have to grow up and face the music, life hurts and bad things will happen but it's how you deal with it that defines you.

I don't need to worry about Jasper or Rosalie because I know that they weren't acting and I'm really thankful for that. I don't know how I would take it if I knew that all of them were manipulating me.

There are many instances where Edward has made me look like a fool, much too many than I would've liked. Like when Edward would watch me trip without steadying me or allow Emmett to make fun of me without interfering. And what about him leaving me with the information of vampires? Even though I already knew about them, I can easily tell the world and then the Cullen's will be destroyed for breaking the most important law the Volturi has. I didn't think that they could be that dumb but I guess that I really didn't know them.

No wonder Edward didn't want to change me, he was just using me. But damn, did he have such a stupid excuse?

You know what? Damn him and his stupid family. They might've been a big part of my life but I will not let them leaving break me. Now that I think about it, I let myself be dazzled into doing things that I knew were stupid and into thinking that they weren't dangerous. I knew that vampires could compel humans but I thought that I was safe from Cold Ones because I had both vervain and knowledge about their kind. Look what good that did for me.

I wasn't even who I really am around them. I was more quiet and agreeable than I really am, I let them control me and mould me into a perfect little toy that they could coddle and play with. I should've been the strong and independent person that my real friends know me as but I swear that I will be myself from now on.

My eyes are overcome with a red haze from my anger and I barely notice Charlie leave the house. Before Damon can say anything, I stand straight up from my chair, causing it to tip over and pick up my cereal bowl. With all of my strength I hurl it towards the wall on the opposite side of the room and watch in pleasure as it shatters on impact.

"Whoa, what's up with you B?" Damon asks calmly.

"What's up with me is that I let myself be controlled and," I pause and pretend to be crumpling paper, "moulded into who they wanted me to be. I let myself be 'dazzled' into being a weaker version of myself even though I knew about damn vampires."

The fight drains out of me completely and I move to sit in Charlie's chair. I cross my airs on the table and then let my head fall onto them with a thud. "I can't believe I didn't see it before. I'm such an idiot."

"You are an idiot, I completely agree with you there." Damon says.

I lift my head in shock. "What? You're supposed to say," I start to mimic his voice, "'Oh Bella, you aren't an idiot, just a person who makes mistakes.'"

He raises his hands and tries for a guilty expression but fails because of his smirk. "Well, what can I say; you do make mistakes but are also an idiot because you didn't tell me that your ex-boyfriend and his family were Cold Ones."

I let out an exasperated sigh, "Alright already. I get that I should've told you, so are you going to let it go?"

He pretends to think about it for a moment, "Nope, never." He leans forward and crosses his arms onto of the table. "Now what was this little revelation of yours?"

Just the mention of my realization makes my anger comes back. "Everything the Cullen's did was too manipulate me into being their stupid personal doll!" I shout loudly. "They acted like they cared for me so that I would trust them and therefore allowing them to change me and make me love them. They're just what you said, manipulating and selfish Cold Ones that are completely soulless." I put as much venom into my voice as possible and spit the words out through clenched teeth.

Damon gets up and starts pacing back and forth, faster and faster before he is just a blur to my eyes. Suddenly the beer can in his hand explodes under the pressure from the hold he had on it and beer sprays everywhere. I must've made a shocked sound because Damon suddenly stops moving and starts talking, "Oh, if I had known this when I had met him yesterday, he would only be a pill of ashes when I was done with him. Damn it!" he goes to punch the wall but I shout at him to stop.

"Damon, I knew we both want to hurt them but they are gone and won't ever bother me again. I'm not going to let want happened to me go because that's just not me. And if I ever see them again, I'm going to tear them a new one." I say with as much conviction as I possibly can put into my voice and I can't help but admit to myself that it feels nice to know that Damon has my back.

"As long as I can help," Damon sits back down after blurring away to get a replacement beer from the fridge. "Now I want you to go upstairs and pack your bags."

"What? Why?" I ask, completely confused.

"Bella, I saw you freaking out before your revelation. You had flashbacks from your time here and they will only get worse, trust me on that. Now move your ass and start packing." Damon explains.

I sigh in annoyance. He never does things the easy way but I guess that is Damon's nature. "You didn't tell me where we are going."

"Mystic Falls, of course. Now that the animal attacks here are over, I can leave and you will be coming with me to get away from these memories." He sounds like he has everything figured out already, I don't believe him.

I hum unconvincingly, "And what exactly are we going to tell Charlie?"

"Exactly what I said before, don't you listen to me?" He teases me.

I just roll my eyes at him but inside I'm jumping for joy. I'm getting out of here and I will be able to start new without somebody knowing what I was like around the Cullen's. But I won't let what happened to me harden me, I will let how I deal with this shit define how strong of a person I am.

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**AN: Next update should be in a week or more, school is getting very busy lately. :( Tell me what you think in a review and I'll give you a teaser of the next chapter. **


	6. Maybe

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed or alerted/favorited me or my story. I appreciate you taking your time to write something about this story. **

**Also, thanks to whoever it was for nominating _In the Darkness_ for Best Villian in the Burning Diamond Awards. Though I didn't place, the stories that did place are amazing and are written by amazing authors. Go check them out and thanks to everyone who voted for me, it was an amazing expierence. **

**Read on...**

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Ch. 4 – Maybe

_To wanna live a better life  
What am I waiting for?  
'Cause nothing stays the same  
Maybe it's time to change  
__**Maybe – Sick Puppies**_

I rest my head against the cool surface of the window of Damon's car and let the purr of the engine lull me into a not-quite-asleep state. It seems in only this zone of consciousness does everything really make sense, even the stuff that is so confusing when wide awake. Even the fact that Charlie let me just pick up and move to Mystic Falls with Damon seems rational.

When Charlie had gotten home two days ago I was going to ease into the idea of me moving to Mystic Falls to get away from the memories of the Cullen's but Damon had other ideas. Once Charlie was seated for dinner Damon just outright asked him if I could move to Mystic Falls with him. Charlie's face had turned a worrying shade of purple before I had cleared up the situation. Charlie had probably thought that I was in love with Damon and wanted to move in with him after knowing him for barely a day.

But I explained to Charlie how Edward broke up with me because I was just a family pet and he wanted someone better. And that at breakfast that morning I was having flashbacks and when he left for work, I realized that the entire Cullen family was manipulating me. When I got my little story of the day out, Charlie jumped right on board for letting me move out, but his one condition was that I had to have my own apartment and cal him at least once a week.

I feel the car slow down and I open my eyes a crack to look out the window. Houses fly past me in a blur due to Damon's crazy speed but soon I can see the houses better as Damon slows down. We pass the hotel that dad and I had stayed at two years ago and then the Mystic Grill where I met Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. Are they still living here? If they are, do they know that I'm living here now?

"Damon," I mumble sleepily as I sit up straighter in my seat.

"Hmm?"

"Do Bonnie, Caroline and Elena know that I'm living here now?" I say as I rub my eyes and grab my favorite pair of sunglasses out of my backpack. I slip them on and look towards Damon.

"Yes and no," he says simply and turns down an unfamiliar street with ease.

"What do you mean 'yes and no'?" I ask suspiciously.

"I mean," he pauses to do that weird eye thing he always does and I roll my eyes at him. "They neither know you're here and not here."

I huff in exasperation. "Can't you lay off the cryptic meanings for one day?"

He pretends to think for a moment before shaking his head, "Nope."

"Does Elena know about vampires yet?" I ask, hoping that she has and dreading it at the same time. I'd really like someone else to talk to about the vampire situation but then again, I don't want Elena pulled into all of the supernatural stuff.

"Yes, she figured it out a couple months after you left and then Stefan confirmed it." Damon answers and I nod my head.

The houses are more spaced apart now and have larger yards than the ones right in the center of town. Damon drives a few more blocks before pulling into a large homey looking house next to a sleek black Chevy Cruze.

"What are we doing here? Aren't we going to my apartment?" I ask confused.

Damon gives me a smirk before getting out of the car and heading towards the house. I slowly get out of the car after him, close the door but don't move towards the house. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what we're doing here." I say stubbornly and cross my arms to add effect.

I keep my eyes focused on the house next door and barely hear Damon groan in irritation. I only have less than a second to react because Damon has picked me up and uses his vampire speed to bring me into the house. I can't help but giggle as he sets me down because the fact that he gets annoyed so easily is very entertaining.

"So what do you think?" Damon asks as he goes and sits on one of the couches like he owns the place.

"It's fine, why?" I ask suspiciously.

"Because it'll be yours as soon as you sign the papers that the realtor is bringing over in fifteen minutes." Damon says in a bored voice.

My mouth drops open and I can only blink at him. "W-what? How is this house mine? I didn't pay for it and Renee doesn't know that I've moved yet so it can't be her." I pause and my eyes widen, "You didn't pay for this, did you Damon?" I ask, waiting in almost painful anxiousness. If Damon did buy this house for me, I wouldn't know how to show him how thankful I am.

He pats the seat next to him and I slowly sit down next to him. "No but that doesn't mean that I had no part in convincing Charlie that if you lived in your own house then you'd be much safer."

My heart melts at his words and inside I criticize myself for it while outwardly I roll my eyes at him. "Thank you Damon, now I have one more concern."

I shouldn't be feeling this way for Damon, he should only be a very good friend but I can't stop my feelings. At times it feels like he will piss my off so much that I will have to stake him in the stomach at some time or another but at others I want to kiss him. Not that I'd ever tell him or anyone else that though. Nope, that secret will stay with me to the grave.

He raises his eyebrows at me but says nothing so I continue. "Did you pay for the car or did Charlie?"

"Neither, Phil did." He must have read the confusion on my face because he elaborates. "Charlie told your mother and Phil about what happened between assward and yourself and when he told them that you were moving to another town away from the memories, they jumped right onboard. Phil suggested to pay for a new car for you while Charlie and Renee split the charges of paying for the first six months bills and flat charge on the house."

"Wow," I say as I sit back and admire the house. The first room when you walk in the door in the living room and it stretches from the left side of the house to the right. It seems that Charlie has already bought and had a new TV set up along with two couches and a couple of armchairs and a coffee table.

On the right side behind the living room is a medium sized kitchen area only separated from the living room by a half wall. On the left side of the house behind the living room is a circular staircase to the second floor.

It seems now that my questions have been put to rest the excitement develops fully and it isn't long after when I'm practically jumping in my seat. With a huge smile on my face I jump from my seat and dash out to Damon's car to grab my bags and bring them inside. Once inside again I set them carefully beside me and say, "Are you going to help me or not?"

As I pull up to the Grill, I can't help but feel really nervous. I mean, I've barely seen my friends here in two years and have only barely spoken to them. I just hope that they won't be too mad but I can't hope for that much from Bonnie. I never found out why she doesn't like me but if I'm truthful, it's nice knowing that someone will tell it to me straight.

I take a deep breath and shake off the nerves I feel and open the door to my new car and head towards the Grill. Damon walks up next to me and opens the door for me, allowing me to enter first with a wink.

Damon and I decided to take our separate vehicles so that I can go home without having to worry about Damon giving me a ride. And my secret reason is that I can escape if things get a little out of control without much fuss.

I spot Elena, Bonnie and Caroline sitting in their regular booth along with a young man with light brown hair and a solemn face. I stutter in my step and begin to walk backwards but Damon comes up behind me, places a hand on my lower back and guides me forward. When I realize that I'm going to meet Elena and her friends again, whether I want to or not, I walk a little faster so that Damon doesn't need to keep a hand on my back, even though it did feel comforting for some reason.

The gang isn't looking at me when I approach them and even when I'm standing right beside them they don't' notice me. But that might be because the guy and Elena are having an intense conversation that Caroline and Bonnie seem to be watching it like a tennis match.

Clearing my throat I say, "Wow you guys are unobservant."

I smirk as all four heads snap towards me and there seems to be some confusion over who I am. Caroline is the first person to remember who I am because she hopes out of her spot in the booth and rushes towards me to pull me into a hug. Her grip is tight but I don't care because I squeeze her back just as tight. It's been a long time since I've had some real friends and I'm just going to relax in the feeling.

"Bella! It's been way too long. How've you been? What are you doing here?" I chuckle at Caroline constant line of questioning as I pull away.

I hold up one finger, "One, I know it's been way too long and I'm very sorry." I switch to two fingers, "Two, I've been less then great but getting better, and three," I switch the amount of fingers again. "I'm here because Damon helped me leave my old town to get away from some unwanted memories."

Elena has gotten up while Caroline was hugging me and says, "It's nice to see you again Bella," as she hugs me too.

Over Elena's shoulder I catch Bonnie's eyes and just simply nod my head at her in acknowledgement. It seems that we still haven't clicked like Caroline and I have but that's fine with me. Not everyone can like you anyway.

Damon comes up beside me with two chairs and plops them down. We both sit down and I lean forward to look at the other guy. "I'm Bella Swan, and you are?"

He sticks out his hand for me to shake and I do, "Stefan Salvatore."

My eyes light up and I look at Stefan a little more closely. Now that I know who he is, I can see the obvious signs of being a vampire. His Lapis Lazuli ring for one and the wizened look in his light eyes for another. "Oh, so you're the infamous younger Salvatore brother and Elena's boyfriend."

Stefan nods his head in response and smiles brightly at her. "Yes, I am."

"It's good to finally meet you because now I can give you my speech." I lean back in my chair and crack my knuckles threateningly. Elena turns red in the face because she knows what I'm going to do next but won't stop me. When I called her during the summer after I was here with Charlie I had her promise that when I ever met Stefan that I got to threaten him a little.

Stefan raises an eyebrow at me incredulously but I ignore it. "Now, I'm warning you that if you hurt Elena in anyway, I'll go get a gun and shoot you. Multiple times too and then I might just run your body through a meat grinder, okay?"

"Of course," Stefan replies, completely serious.

"Good job Bella, I was waiting for that." Caroline says before taking a sip of her drink.

Bonnie nods reluctantly, "Yes but you could've done better."

I place both hands over my heart in and smile at her in fake happiness. "Oh, thank you Bonnie for the compliment."

Her eyes narrow at my words, "What compliment? I bashed your threat."

Nodding I say, "Yes but you also agreed with Caroline."

Everyone breaks out in laughter and even Bonnie has a few giggles here and there. It seems that I'm already welcome here.

My eyes reluctantly open to a banging at my door. Groaning, I sit up in bed and take a moment to let the light headedness pass before pulling my bed hair up into a bun. My eyes are squinted against the sunlight that streams into my room as I open my door and I trudge towards the door. I don't bother looking into the peephole because I'm just too lazy. I mean, who needs to be up at eight in the morning on a Saturday anyway?

I open the door a crack and growl out, "What?"

I see Damon and the gang and another man on my doorstep and raise an eyebrow at him. I have a feeling that it's his fault that everyone is at my house at the ungodly hour.

Caroline mock glares at me, "Geez Bella, open the door already, we have things to discuss."

This time I raise both eyebrows at her but open the door anyway. "The girls can come in."The girls all come into the house but Damon and Stefan can't and I smile. Of course the vampires can't come in because I have already signed the forms and now the house is mine. The realtor came over yesterday just as Damon and I were leaving for the Grill but I signed the forms quickly and then deliberately didn't invite Damon in.

Stefan rolls his eyes at me, "Oh, come on Bella, invite us in already."

I sigh dramatically while looking at my nails. "Fine, you guys can come in."

Damon walks past me and into the living room to join the girls but Stefan waves me forward in a gentlemanly manner. I smile at him because I can already see how Elena fell for him.

When I walk into the living room everyone is very serious and quiet. I look down at my clothes and can't help but blush when I realize that I'm in my pajamas. "Um, just give me a sec will ya?" Then I quickly run upstairs and change into some more appropriate clothes.

As I walk into the living room again I sit down in an armchair and rub my hands over my face to wake myself up a little more. "Alright, firstly who are you?" I ask the one man that is sitting beside Jeremy but I have never seen him before.

"I'm Alaric Saltzman," The man says and my eyes widen as I connect the dots.

"Resident history teacher by day and vampire hunter by night," Damon adds with a smirk and I slap him gently on the arm.

"Yes Damon I know that," I pause and look for the god-awful rings that are sitting on Jeremy and Alaric's hands. "Nice rings."

They look down before saying soft thanks. Sighing, I get back to the topic at hand, "What did you guys want to talk about?"

Elena gives Damon a sharp look and he tries to look sheepish but fails. "Damon told us something very interesting this morning."

"Oh, did he?" I say.

"Yes, so when were you going to tell us that you knew about vampires?" Elena asks accusingly.

My mouth drops open in shock and I start, bug eyed at her. Clearing my throat I say in a questioning tone. "Soon?"

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**AN: What'd you think? Tell me in a review!**


	7. Demons

**AN: Thanks so much for the review and all the favorites and adding me or my story to your alerts! I'm sorry if I didn't respond to you, I was busy this week with basketball and school.**

**I have forgotten this in the previous chapters so I'm adding it now. I do not own Twilight or the Vampire Diares; they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Enjoy...**

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Ch.5 – Demons

_Demons, come on!  
You got a vision, you're on a mission  
Demons, live on!  
__**Demons – Sleigh Bells**_

"Soon? Really?" Bonnie asks disbelievingly.

I glare at her and straighten my spine so I can sit straighter. "Yes, really. I just didn't do it earlier because one, I didn't want to tell you over the phone and two because I didn't want to have our first night out together and my first night in town talking about vampires."

"Well that's honest," Caroline says, shocked.

Rolling my eyes, I say, "Of course, have you ever known me to be less than blunt?"

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie all look at each other before saying in unison, "Nope."

Stefan takes a step forward now, "Now, let's get back to the topic at hand. How do you know about vampires?"

I look between Stefan and my friends to Damon a couple of times in the silence before leaning towards Damon. Not taking my eyes off of Stefan's I ask in a whisper, "Do they know about Cold Ones?"

"Nope," Damon says at the same volume.

I nod my head and purse my lips in thought. I don't really want to go into too much detail but then again, I don't want to leave out too much information that they ask for more.

"About half way through my stay here I went for a walk and met up with Damon. We were talking when a girl came bounding over to him and I was about to walk away to give them privacy when I saw the bite mark on her neck. I didn't know why she had bite marks until she asked Damon if he wanted another bite. Then I tried to run but he caught up with me and then told me all about your type of vampires. I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone and then I left town." I say with a shrug.

"Okay, then-" Bonnie starts but I cut her off.

"No, I'm not finished but thanks for asking." I send her a tight smile. "Well, after that summer I spent with you guys, I moved in with Charlie in the January after. When I started school I noticed some weird things about a group of other students. They never ate, were always freezing cold, had odd gold eyes, and never came to school when it was sunny out, which was rare.

"I decided to research these characteristics after listening to an old folk legend at the Native reserve and the same thing kept coming up again and again: Cold Ones. Cold Ones are another type of vampire but they don't have fangs, don't compel and they don't need to be invited in to houses. Instead they are ice cold and hard as a rock, have either red eyes if they drink from humans or gold if they have a vegetarian lifestyle, and are venomous. They have to drain their victims or else the venom will change the person into a vampire which takes three days of excruciating pain." I pause to see if they are following and everyone nods for me to continue.

"So I confronted the only single guy about what they were and he didn't deny it. Then we started dating and he 'dazzled' me into loving him all the while him and his family manipulated me into being a weak version of myself and controlled everything about me."

Bonnie snorts at my choice of words, "Dazzled? Really? What is that? And since you already knew about vampires you should have been able to resist what they were doing."

My eyes narrow at her and one side of my upper lip curls up in a sneer. "Dazzling is what I call them being able to change my will without compelling me because even if they tried to compel me, it wouldn't have worked, I have vervain."

Elena turns to Bonnie and admonishes her, "Bonnie, Bella is our friend and we shouldn't criticize her."

I see Jeremy go to say something out of the corner of my eye but he stops himself before he can speak. I'm starting to think that Jeremy has some feelings for Bonnie and doesn't want Elena to know just yet.

"Anyway, one night I went out to watch them play baseball only for some rogue vampires to stop in and decide that I was going to be their snack. The Cullen's over reacted and took me down to Phoenix to get away from them but they didn't expect one of the rogue vampires to call my cell and threaten my mother. I snuck out and went to stupidly save her but she wasn't there and the rogue vampire ended up breaking my leg, ribs, gave me a concussion and almost turned me into a vampire before the Cullen's showed up and sucked the venom out." I lean forward in my seat and stretch my right arm out so that they can see the scar. Elena grabs up near my elbow and pulls my arms closer to her face since she can't see the scar all that well.

As I have been talking about the Cullen's waves of despair and anger have been washing over me at different intervals. It is true am slightly heartbroken over Edward but then the anger takes over and reminds me that I fell for him even while knowing that there was a chance that I could get hurt.

I zone out for the next couple minutes as I think of the differences between Damon and his friends and the Cullen's. For one is that there are humans in Damon's group of friends so they can relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed by the supernatural. Another plus is the fact that I have been genuine friends with most of them for the last two years and they don't seem to be tricking me. The Cullen's always were ragging on me and protecting me, making me feel like rare China but eve only being in this group of friends for less than a day I have noticed that they don't always try to protect everyone. But Elena does that sometimes but then again she has always done that in the time that I've known her.

I tell them about my birthday party disaster and Damon's arrival and then Edward's break up with me. But I only vaguely tell them what Edward told me because I know that they aren't who I really am. Damon's idea to move down to Mystic Falls comes next and I can't help but feel thankful to him for giving me the idea.

"And that's how I ended up moving here," I finish with a shrug.

"Well," Caroline says. "That's one heck of a story and now it's our turn to tell ours." Then she launches into a huge story full of drama, secrets, betrayal, death, powers, and fear.

Truthfully, I only expected to hear a small story of when Stefan finally told Elena that he was a vampire and then she told her friends. Or at the most, Damon got mad at Bonnie and showed his vampire face and they had to tell them. Then maybe Elena got mad and sulked for a few days but got over it.

I never expected to learn that Katherine came back, that Bonnie is a witch, or Katherine turned Caroline into a vampire. Tyler is now a werewolf and his uncle was killed by Damon because Mason was working with Katherine. I already knew that Elena was adopted because she told me during one of her phone calls but I didn't realize that John is her biological father. That John is back in town to protect Elena and a werewolf is personally after Damon. Caroline also went into depth about Elijah and this curse that is on the oldest vampire in history and how he needs Elena to break the sun and the moon curse.

I sit there stunned into silence as I try to make order of all of the things that have happened here. And I thought that my story was long and confusing.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and with a smirk, I turn to Damon. "And you said that I was in more danger than you, liar."

He gives me his most innocent look, "I didn't lie and I wasn't in danger because I'm a vampire."

I scoff at him and mutter, "Yeah, as safe as you can be with a werewolf personally after you."

Alaric butts in, "Especially after you pissed her off multiple times."

I point to Alaric, "See, he agrees with me."

Damon gives me a big fake smile as Caroline, Elena and even Bonnie giggle over our banter.

Stefan leans forward in his seat, "You know Bella, you look pretty similar to Elena if I look close enough."

I furrow my eyebrows at him and tilt my head in confusion. Where did this come from anyway? Now that Stefan pointed it out to everyone they are all looking back and forth between Elena and I. At the same time, almost as if choreographed, we blush and look down, letting our hair fall to cover our faces.

Caroline giggles, "Hey, it's true."

Alaric, stuck in thought, nods and says, "Yeah and look," he points to my face and then to Elena's, "they both have the same button nose and oval shaped eyes."

Damon kicks his feet up onto my coffee table and hums, "I didn't notice it before."

Even though I should get mad at him for putting his boots on the coffee table, I don't. But I blame my stupid growing feelings for Damon and the fact that they can sneak up on me at any given time.

Bonnie says, "And they both have the ability to attract supernatural creatures."

I shrug off their words and at the same time my stomach grumbles, notifying me that I haven't eaten all morning and it is approaching noon. "How about we make some lunch?" I ask and get up and go to the kitchen.

I hear everyone else follow after me and they all help me make some cheese sandwiches and soup for a quick dinner. As I'm taking a sip of soup I notice that the air around Bonnie is moving more than usual and seems to be cooling down her soup. I watch, fascinated, for a few moments before I get up the guts to ask her a question.

"So, Bonnie, how did you first come into your powers?" I ask hesitantly, not wanting her to snap at me for no reason.

She raises her eyebrows at me before flipping her hair over one shoulder, "I first started lighting candles just by staring at them and then when I started a fire at the local car wash I went and asked my grandmother what was going on and she told me that I am a witch."

I nod and ask my next question, "So what all can you do?"

"Um…" Bonnie pauses to think for a moment. "I can cause brain aneurisms, levitate objects, change the weather, and I can control the elements."

Caroline speaks up, "Don't forget that you can see the future."

Elena also interjects, "And you can do spells from your grimoire."

"And you can channel from other objects," Stefan inputs and then gets up to put his dishes in the dishwasher.

"Hey," Bonnie says with a smile, "are any of you Bonnie?"

We all start laughing and when we finish eating, we all put our dishes in the dishwasher. Bonnie then clears her throat as she starts to head for the door, "Well I gotta get home and work on some homework."

Elena sighs, "I should go to but it was nice hanging out with you Bella." She pulls me in for a hug and when she pulls away says, "We should get together some time, just the two of us."

I nod enthusiastically, "Sure, you still have my cell phone number, right?"

"Yup," she says and then leaves too.

I turn back to Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Jeremy and Alaric and put my hands on my hips. "Well, I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave after eating my food and waking me up at that ungodly hour." I tease them.

"Of course, we'll see you later Bella. Hey are you enrolled in school yet?" Caroline asks as she pushes Damon and Stefan towards the door.

"Yeah, I'll start on Monday." I say, watching Caroline push both Damon and Stefan with a smile.

"Then I'll have to show you around."

I nod, "Sounds like a plan."

I can't help but want to usher them out the door faster. This morning has been so hectic and full of stories that I just really need some alone time to think about everything. It really does seem like Mystic Falls attracts just as more or even more danger than Forks ever did.

Maybe I shouldn't have moved here if it is so dangerous. But where would I go? And if I did leave then I would always be wondering about what happened here and if the curse was ever broken. I also can't help but want to help my new friends anyway I can, even if I am only human. I could always start exercising more to gain muscles to be able to stake vampires easier and I could make a stake to always have with me.

Since I look similar to Elena, I could help out by pretending to be her some days while the others make sure that she is safe. That could work but I'll have to tell them that the next time I see them.

That's another thought that I have been pondering: why do I look similar to Elena? Maybe it's just a coincidence but from what I've learned over the last two years is that there are no coincidences. The only person that I can think would know anything about me looking similar to someone else would be Charlie. I guess I'll have to call and ask him later.

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**AN: Thanks for reading, tell me what you think in a review and I'll give you a teaser of the next chapter.**


	8. Secrets

**AN: This chapter takes place during _Daddy Issues_ about a quarter way through it. Thanks for all the reviews and favorites, they mean a lot! I know I said this would be posted last week but finals got in the way. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries.**

Ch. 6 – Secrets

_Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

_This time, don't need another perfect lie_  
_Don't care if critics ever jump in line_  
_I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

_**Secrets - OneRepublic**_

A few hours after the gang leaves I decide to call Charlie and talk about some of my questions. Slowly I walk upstairs and into my room which is filled with only the basic furnishings. I really am going to need to go shopping one of these days or order all my stuff online. I nod to myself as I think of the second option and mentally make a post-it to do that as I talk to Charlie.

Knowing Charlie, he will probably mumble through his explanation most of the conversation so it will be better for my mentality if I have something to draw my attention away. Otherwise I would just be sitting there, biting my bottom lip and thinking about the worst that could happen.

Sitting back against the bed's headboard, I pull my laptop onto my lap and boot it up quickly and then hook up to the Wi-Fi system that I set up last night before I went to bed. Then I go onto a furniture store and start picking out things for around the house.

When I finish picking out stuff for the kitchen and living room and add them to my shopping cart I take out my phone. Dialing the number from memory, I open a new tab for bedroom stuff and the study that is next to my room.

"Hello?" Charlie's gruff voice asks in my ear as my eyes scan the website.

"Hey dad." I say and add a nice wooden bedside table to the cart and the matching dresser too.

"Hey Bella. How's it going in Mystic Falls?" He asks.

"Fine but I have some questions for you," I pause and gently half close my laptop to focus. "I met with my old friends this morning and something was brought to our attention. I look strangely like one of my friends." I tell him in a fake shocked tone.

Charlie clears his throat, "What's her name?" His voice is chocked and strained.

"Elena Gilbert," I say and he sighs into the phone. I can practically picture him slumping his shoulders in defeat and reaching one hand up to rub his neck.

"I thought so," Charlie sighs again. "Elena told you she was adopted right?"

"Yeah," I respond. When Elena told me that she was adopted during one of our phone calls I helped her with her confusion and then told Charlie and he helped me help Elena out too.

"Well, Elena's bio mother was pregnant with twins when I visited Mystic Falls with Renee. I became friends with both Grayson and John Gilbert and I was there when Isobel showed up at the clinic to deliver the babies. Anyways, when Isobel disappeared I decided that I wanted to adopt one of the girls while Grayson and Miranda adopted the other. I got you Bella, while Grayson and Miranda got Elena."

I sit in silence, completely and utterly shocked. I never thought that this was a possibility, not in a thousand years. Before I thought that maybe Elena and I had the same grandmother or something but never this. Something wet trails down my cheek and I slowly reach up to wipe the single tear away.

"Bella?" Charlie asks me when I don't respond, "I never meant to hurt you honey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"Why didn't you tell me when Elena told me that she was adopted, huh? That would have been the perfect time." I point out.

"I know, I just thought that I never would have to tell you." Charlie says, his voice begging me to understand.

I have never been one to completely freak out all that much and this is no different. The first few moments were just spent in shock and then hurt and disappointment about Charlie and Renee hiding this and lying to me. But once I got over that I can see their point of view about everything. They never thought that I'd see Elena so there would be no questioning my parentage. But even with this new information, Charlie and Renee were the ones that raised me and made sure that I was loved, they are my parents. They may not be my biological parents but from what Elena has told me about John and Isobel, I'd rather not have ever had them as my parents.

"I know dad and I understand why you hid it from me."

"You do?" Charlie asks hopefully.

"Yeah, and I want you to know that you will always be my dad because from what Elena has told me about our birth parents, they aren't all that nice." I say with a small laugh.

Charlie chuckles too, "She's right, Isobel was a bitch and John is a manipulator. They both only wanted the best for themselves so it is better that Renee and I adopted you."

I sit quietly for a moment, trying to figure out how to ask my next question without seeming like I don't care for Charlie. Bouncing my leg up and down on the bed, I decide to just wing it, "Dad can I have John's number if you have it. I'd like to talk to him myself."

"Whatever you want Bella, just give me a minute." Rustling echoes across the phone line as Charlie digs through the drawer where he keeps all the pens and important numbers on different pieces of paper. "Found it!" He says to himself, "You got a pen or something Bella?"

"My laptop," I tell him and I open the screen up more and open up a blank Microsoft Word document.

Charlie then tells me the number which I then recite back to him to make sure that I got it down right before thanking him and saying goodbye. I hang up and then quickly buy all the furniture I put in my cart and make sure to have it delivered to my house in the next week.

***Blood is Thicker than Water***

Sitting at a booth in the far corner of the Grill, I can see Jenna and who I am guessing is Alaric sitting talking about something. From the look on their faces, I think it has something to do with John being here.

The door to the Grill opens and in walks the man of the hour and he starts heading towards Jenna and Alaric. Standing up quickly, I swiftly walk over to intercept him before he gets to them. Grabbing tightly onto his elbow I pull him back to my table and motion for him to sit down.

"Can I join you?" He asks confused.

"Yes, and you can explain why you're back in town," I pause for effect, "dad."

I smirk as John pales a touch and freezes in his spot. "Your name?" He asks quietly.

"Isabella Swan, Charlie Swan's adopted daughter." I remind him.

"I remember him," he glares at me. "How did you figure it out?"

Sighing dramatically, I say, "It was a long and torturous battle in my mind before I called Charlie and flat out asked him after I saw how similar Elena and I look."

He snorts, "Figures, Charlie always was a weak man."

I slam my hand down to the table and whisper harshly, "You do not get to say that about my dad." How does the man that has only known me for less than five minutes, know how to push my buttons? It's not fair or right.

"No, Isabella, I'm your father, not Charles Swan."

I shake my head, "No, he is my father because he raised me; you are nothing more than a sperm donor in my mind."

He looks hurt for a brief second before a mask comes over his face and he sighs, "What were you hoping to get out of this conversation?"

"Answers to why you are here and how you plan on protecting Elena."

His eyes widen, "Ah, so you do know about all the supernatural going on around here. Well, just like the others, you'll find out how I plan on protecting her in time."

I snort, "Of course, and don't think for a moment that you are getting away with pretending that you don't care about Elena."

"What?" He asks, pretending to be confused.

"If I were you, I'd tell Elena about her dear twin," I motion to myself, "before she finds out from someone else or she will never forgive you for not telling her."

His face is stoic and reveals nothing that is going on in his mind. Looking up, I can see Elena and Damon enter so I start heading towards them. As I get close I can hear Elena trying to talk Damon down from hurting John.

"Damon, I mean it. All I'm asking is that you try to keep it together. Be the better man," she finishes just as I reach them.

"Now why would he do that?" I ask rhetorically. "The impulsive and dangerous vampire we both know is so much more _fun_ than the good guy that you want him to be." I point out and Damon smirks down at Elena, obviously agreeing with me. That darn smirk sends my heart racing and it a miracle that Damon hasn't noticed it yet. Or if he has, then why he hasn't said anything about it yet? Damon is not known for keeping things to himself.

"See, she gets it." Damon nods his head towards me and I smile before getting back to business.

"John is over there and I tried to get him to give me answers but he snapped shut like a clam." I say apologetically to Elena as Damon heads over to John.

She puts a hand on my shoulder, "Its fine Bella, and he's never met you so I didn't expect him to blurt all of his secrets to you." We both start walking towards Damon and John where the two men are taunting each other.

"So, John, rumor has it you know a lot and won't say anything." Damon says from behind John as John lights one of the memorial candles.

"How do I know you can be trusted, Damon?" John asks.

"You don't," I interrupt the spat before they start threatening each other, I want to do that. "Now John, do you remember what we talked about?"

Elena and Damon both give me confused looks but I ignore them as John nods, "Good, now either I can tell Elena what I know or you can tell her why you're here. But if you don't choose any," I laugh, "well, then I'll just let Damon deal with you."

John stands completely still as he thinks it over, "I'll tell you all something at the Salvatore house in twenty minutes." He says before walking away and out the door.

"What do you have on John, Bella?" Damon asks suspiciously.

I shrug my shoulders and give him an innocent smile, "Nothing but we better start calling people if we want them at your house in time for the meeting."

"I already called Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan," Elena says, "I just have Jeremy and Alaric left."

I snap my fingers, "Then hop to it, you can explain to them while we are in the car."

Sitting in Damon's house, my knee starts bouncing impatiently as we all wait for John to show up since he is five minutes late. Usually that wouldn't bother me much but this is John we are talking about here. Standing, I go to grab a glass and take a drink from Damon's decanter filled with scotch only to be stopped by a voice.

"You know, that's bad for your health." John says as he steps down into the living room.

I glare at him, "You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do, you lost that right years ago."

The gang looks confused between John and I before Caroline decides to speak up, "I'm confused but let's just get to it already."

John rolls his eyes at the blonde as he walks to stand near the fire place. He watches silently as I fill my glass and move to sit back in my spot before speaking, "I'm not going to tell you why I'm here or how I can protect Elena."

His sentence brings shouts of irritation before he speaks over it, "I'm going to tell you what Isabella was talking about when she threatened to tell everyone what she knows." They all quiet down immediately.

"As you all know, I am Elena's biological father but what you don't know if that Isobel was pregnant with twins eighteen years ago." Silence descends as he waits for the others to catch up to what he is saying.

"So, I have a twin sister somewhere?" Elena asks her eyes bright with hope to meet this sibling but also with anger at John and Isobel for hiding this from her.

"Yes, you do." John says and doesn't take his eyes off of mine.

"How do you know this Bella?" Stefan asks, already thinking ahead of the twin part and onto how I could know to use it against John.

"Charlie told me and I thought that Elena needed to hear it from her bio father instead of me," I say but don't take my eyes off of John. I'm afraid that if I move my eyes from him for even a second, he will do something underhanded and pull the ground out from under our feet. I know that John is just as sneaky and manipulating as Katherine so I am making it my job to watch him during these few moments, I'm his daughter after all. Even thinking the word in the same sentence as his name is like swallowing acid.

"Is that all you have to say Isabella, really? Nothing you want to share with everyone?" He taunts me and I glare at him, willing him to turn to ash with my eyes.

"Should there be, John?" Damon asks still looking suspiciously at me which I can see from the corner of my eye.

John chuckles, "Isn't it funny how Isabella's name is so close to Isobel's?"

"It's Bella," I snarl and this time Alaric looks at me thoughtfully as I squash down the urge to get out of my seat and smack the smug smile off of John's face.

Elena groans and puts her face in her hands, "One of you just tell me where my twin is or who he or she is."

Stefan rubs her back comfortingly as he raises an eyebrow first at John and then at me. I don't make any move to answer because it is John's responsibility to tell Elena.

John sighs, "You already know your twin."

Elena's mouth drops open and I can picture her going through a mental index of all the people that she has ever met. Just as Elena is about to ask for clarification John continues, "Your sibling was born eight minutes before you and looks very similar."

Elena turns to look at me, knowing that we share the same birthday already. "Bella?" She asks hesitantly, her voice showing the struggle between being happy and knowing me and mad at my existence being hidden.

I nod slowly, "Its true Elena, Renee and Charlie adopted me when Isobel disappeared while Miranda and Grayson adopted you."

"When did you figure it out?" Elena asks in a breathy voice.

Finally I turn my gaze from John to look at her, "This morning after you all left, I called Charlie and asked."

Elena takes in a deep breath and visibly locks down her emotions. She stands up, grabs my wrist and starts heading to the door only to call over her shoulder, "Bella and I are going to go and talk for a couple hours, we'll call one of you if we get into trouble."


	9. Daddy Issues

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited or put me or this story on alert. Everyone means a lot to me, I'm glad you are liking the story so far. I wasn't able to send a sneak peak to those who reviewed due to school and sports all week but I promise to do better. **

**I'm sorry this is late again, life has been hetic. So, I've decided to post two chapters a week now, probably on Mondays and Thursdays. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators. Remeber to review!**

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Ch. 7 – Daddy Issues

Elena unlocks her front door in silence, much like the drive over here and heads up to her room. I silently follow after her, expecting her to snap out of her quiet phase and start yelling at any second. I'm not disappointed.

The second that I step through her bedroom door and it is firmly closed, her emotions spew out like a volcano, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why leave me in suspense the entire time? I had to wait on John to tell me who my twin was! I would have rather had it be you to tell me!"

"Why?" I ask quietly but Elena stops and gapes at me.

"Why?" She asks, shocked and I nod. "Would you rather have been told about your twin sister by your best friend - who is your twin sister - or you biological father? Someone you know you can't trust."

"That's a mouthful." I state obviously.

"Bella!" Elena yells in exasperation.

I shrug, "What do you want me to say Elena? 'I'm sorry that I wanted our father to be the one to tell you since it's his responsibility'?"

"I wanted you to tell me because it would have meant more coming from you and I wouldn't have doubted you if you told me all the facts. I never want to rely on John for anything because he always has a price for any information he gives."

I shake my head, "John cares about you and I'm sorry but I thought that you would like it if John came clean about something before someone else told you."

"I don't know," Elena throws her hands into the air and collapse onto her bed. "It's just so… confusing, you know?"

I nod and move to lie on the bed next to her, "The only thing that you need to know is that John wants to get back into your good books, I'm your sister and we need to think of a way to figure out how John can protect you."

She takes in a deep breath and then slowly nods her head. One hand reaches up to push some of her hair away from her face, "Okay, you're right so how are we going to do that?"

I sit up and cross my arms over my chest and ponder the question for a moment, "Well we can either have Damon force the information out of him or you can use his care for you against him."

"How?" She asks very interested as she sits up too.

"Just tell him that he may be our father but we will never be his daughters-" I'm cut off by the ringing of Elena's phone. She gives me a sheepish smile before answering it.

"Stefan?" She pauses for a moment, "How? Wasn't she just with you guys?" She listens to Stefan again before saying, "Please help her Stefan, but tell Damon not to kill Tyler. Bye."

"Well?" I ask impatiently.

"Caroline was kidnapped by Jules when she parked her car in front of her house."

"Why?"

"Because Jules thought that we kidnapped Tyler and wants to get back at all of us." Elena sighs and rubs her hands over her face.

A knock sounds at the front door but I'm confused because I wasn't expecting someone and Damon and Stefan are out to rescue Caroline. Unless it's Jeremy coming back from the Salvatore house or Jenna getting back from work but I had completely forgot about them. Slowly I get up from the bed and creep to the window. Pulling back the blinds, I just peak my head out and see John's car across the street still running.

I mouth John's name to Elena before I get very excited, "Follow my lead and tell John what I told you to tell him when I give you the signal."

Rushing downstairs Elena follows after me confused, "What's the signal?"

I just give her a smile and pull open the door wide and John storms in. "Hey, wait, you're not Jenna or Jeremy so get out."

"No," He scans the area that he can see with worried eyes before looking at us, "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Elena retorts.

"Doesn't look like nothing," John says, looking at Elena with concern.

"Well guess what John, trust works both ways now get out." I start to shut the door but Elena puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

I give her a look but stop, "Look we don't have time for this, and we need to get Caroline back." She says.

I nod and turn and grab John's shoulders, "First dad duty, keep Elena here while I go phone Damon."

Turning away from John, I give Elena a smirk before darting upstairs and stopping at the landing to listen to their conversation. Elena protests and tries to get upstairs to pretend to help me but John stops her and asks her what's going on.

"You can't tell me what to do." Elena points out.

"Yes I can. Wanna know why? Because I'm here to make sure you stay safe." John says and I inwardly cheer at how well this is going. Now all Elena has to do is tell John what I told her and he'll have to tell us how to kill Elijah.

"I've got that covered." Elena says.

"With that stupid deal you made with Elijah? That was a dumb move." John says and I cringe at his words because all they will do is put fuel to Elena's fire.

"Are you saying that I should put my trust in you? After all the secrets you've hid and the things you've done?" She asks incredulously.

"We're family, so yes." John replies.

"No, you don't get to use that word." Elena snaps at him. "It's off-limits to you."

"But that doesn't change the facts." John says weakly.

"You're right, facts are facts so listen up. You may be mine and Bella's father but we are never going to be your daughters. You got that?" She says angrily and I can picture her venomous glare.

John doesn't say anything to that and Elena slams the door shut in his face before storming up the stairs to find me already waiting for her. She opens her mouth to say something but I grab her arm and tug her back into her room.

"That was amazing." I say once the door is shut, "He will totally have to tell us how he plans on keeping you safe now."

"Can you believe his nerve? Calling us family?" Elena fumes as she paces back and forth.

I roll my eyes, "Yes but you, little Elena Gilbert tricked the manipulative John Gilbert by using his feelings against him. He's down for the count and will bend to our will now." I say in a wrestling announcer's voice and start laughing at myself.

Elena starts giggling with me and soon we are mocking John and each other. "Oh, I'm Elena and you can't tell me what to do." I say in a high pitched voice.

She laughs and replies, "Well I'm Bella and trust works both ways now."

When our laughing fit subsides we lapse into silence, "Elena, we don't need to do the whole sister thing if you don't want to. We can just stay friends if you want."

"Is that what you want?" She asks in a hurt voice and I shake my head slightly. "Well good because I don't want it either."

Smiling I hug her tightly, "That's good because I'm glad that I have you for a sister and not Bonnie. No offence to Bonnie thought," I say and explain quickly. "It's just that we don't get along and if we were siblings then it would be much more awkward between us than it is already."

She nods her head and the doorbell rings. "Maybe that's Stefan and Caroline." Elena says hopefully and rushes downstairs with me on her heels. Caroline is my friend and I want to make sure that she is okay, even if we haven't physically seen each other in two years.

My phone vibrates just as Elena steps off the stairs and I open it quickly. _**Stefan is taking Caroline home. -Damon.**_

"Elena, wait, that's not-" But the door is already open and waiting on the porch is a man in his mid thirties, wearing a pristine suit with a smirk on his face.

"Elijah," Elena utters and I hurry down the stairs to stand with her.

"Hello Elena," he says to her before looking at me, "and who's this?"

"No one," Elena says quickly and Elijah gives her a look.

I step forward and confidently say, "I'm Bella Swan, Elena's long lost twin sister and you are the man that she made a deal with."

I quickly type back a response without looking down. _**Are you okay? Is anyone hurt? –Bella.**_

Damon's response comes back almost immediately and I glance down quickly to read it. _**Everyone's okay but Papa Witch stopped by to help out so stop worrying :) –Damon.**_

My eyes widen slightly before I compose my expression. Of course Elijah has Jonas watching everything that happens in the town to keep everyone safe.

Elijah doesn't look too shocked but then again, this is a thousand year old vampire who has had many years to school his expressions. "It's nice to meet you Bella," he pauses and looks to Elena, "I think we need to have a chat, don't you?"

Elena nods her head in defeat and we both back up to let him in the house. He walks towards the living room and sits down in the one lone chair. He motions for us to sit on the couch and we do so quickly. "When did you find your twin Elena?" Elijah asks, making conversation.

"Why does it matter?" Elena snaps at him.

He raises an eyebrow and Elena looks away guiltily, "Well, I'm thinking that if you knew all along, you would have included her in the deal. But since you didn't that clues me in that you only recently found out."

"I've known her for years but didn't know we were related until this afternoon." Elena says and Elijah hums thoughtfully.

He looks towards me, "You know, since you aren't a doppelganger but look similar to one, we can use that to our advantage."

I lean forward, suddenly interested. "How?" If I can help keep Elena safe in anyway, I will. She shouldn't have to deal with all this crap, so if I can take some of the stuff off her shoulders I will.

Elijah leans back in the chair, "Simple, just dress you up in Elena's clothes and have you pretend to be her when we lure Klaus out."

"No," Elena says forcibly but Elijah and I ignore her. Elijah seems to know that I will do anything to keep her safe, even if that means pretending to be her.

"Klaus is impulsive so if he thinks that he got his doppelganger without a fight, he wouldn't even look to see if she is the doppelganger. You could trick him and then I'll kill him when he is at his weakest."

"No!" Elena shouts and we both turn to look at her, "You won't do this Bella, I won't have someone gamble with their life to keep mine safe. No, I won't let you. None of us will." He eyes blaze with determination.

I smile slightly, "Elena, I could keep you safe. Stefan would appreciate it so much and you wouldn't need to die or be turned into a vampire. I know that you don't want to be a vampire just yet, you want to grow old and have kids."

Elena's eyes widen, "How?" She asks, shocked at me knowing her own secret.

"We've been friends for years Elena, I know how you think." I point out.

She shakes her head, "Back to the point, you aren't going to do this." She turns to Elijah, "Promise me that you won't use her to lure Klaus out."

Elijah raises his eyebrows at him, "You're negotiating with me? Again?"

I elbow Elena in the stomach but she doesn't back down, "Yes, she is a friend so she should be part of our original deal. I just didn't name her specifically because I never thought she'd come here so soon, you can't let her get hurt."

Elijah keeps quiet and slowly stands, "You're right and I can see that you two want to talk this out so I'll be going." He starts to head to the door but stops and says over his shoulder, "You should thank me for keeping your friends safe from the wolves."

I groan and let my head fall back against the couch; it just figures that Elijah would remind us of what he can do.

"What does he mean Bella? Is everyone safe?" Elena asks worriedly and reaches over to shake me but I slap her hand away playfully.

"Everyone is fine but apparently Elijah had Jonas go out and help them get Caroline back." I mutter and she groans too.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before she says quietly, "I won't let you hurt yourself, you know that right? I can't lose anyone else Bella, there's already too many people dead." Her voice chokes up at the end and my eyes dart open to look at her. Her eyes are slightly red and watery and I can tell that she is holding back the tears.

I reach over and pull her to me in a hug. Rubbing her back comfortingly, I whisper reassurances again and again in her ear. Elena pulls away after a few moments and mumbles her goodnight to me. I tell her goodnight too before exiting the house and getting into my car to go back to my house to get some rest.

This day has been much more stressful than I thought it was going to be and all I want is to curl up on my comfy bed and go to sleep. As I pull my car into the driveway my phone rings. I let it ring for a few moments as I turn off the engine and then answer the call.

"Hello?" I ask as I shut my car door and walk up to my house.

"Guess who just came over with a gift?" Damon questions happily.

I shake my head, "I don't know Damon. Santa Claus?"

He laughs for a moment, "No, your dear father just left my house after giving me a special dagger to kill a certain Original with."

I pause with my key in the lock, "What?"

"Apparently the dagger must be dipped into some special white oak ask and then plunged into their heart for them to die." Damon replies and I open my door, quickly shut it and lock it and head upstairs.

"That's great Damon."

"Yeah so whatever you did to get John to trust us, good job." I freeze and start sputtering.

"H-how? W-why would you think I had anything to do with it?"

I can practically picture Damon rolling his eyes, "I know you Bella, you probably made John feel bad about lying yourself or had Elena do it because Elena has more effect."

I nod even though he can't see it, "I got Elena to do it."

"Now we can kill an Original which we will do tomorrow." Damon says.

""You'll have to do it on your own then because I'm going to Duke University to read more of Isobel's work." I explain and I sit on my bed.

"Good you can look for a way around the curse or a way to save Elena." Damon replies.

"That's what I was going to do Damon," I roll my eyes and yawn, "Look; it's getting late so I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight Damon."

"Goodnight Bella," He replies and I shut my phone and plug it into its charger by the bed.

Then I quickly get ready for bed and the second that my head touches the pillow, I'm out like a light.

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**AN: There will be no Andie Star in my story this time around. Remeber to review!**


	10. The Dinner Party

**AN: Thanks for all the love for the last chapter! I appreciate it a lot! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**I'm on vacation all of next week so I won't be able to post anything for two weeks, hopefully I'll be able to post another chapter tomorrow though. **

**Enjoy!**

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Ch. 8 – The Dinner Party

Rolling out of bed, the first thing I notice is the amount of light coming in through the closed blinds. I hurriedly look to the clock and swear loudly in quick succession. I'm already late to getting to Duke Campus and it's quite a long drive to get there.

I spend the next few minutes at top speed as I quickly brush my hair and pull it back from my face in a sloppy bun, dress and finish up in the bathroom before jogging down the stairs. I grab my coat off the back of the couch where I left it the night before and run out of the house, keys in hand, only stopping to grab an apple for breakfast.

When I get into my car I automatically plug in my iPod, turn it on shuffle but keep the volume low. I plug my hands free headphones into my cell phone and hit Elena's speed dial number. Elena doesn't answer her phone though so I just leave a quick message about where I'm going and that she should stay safe. Then I hit Caroline's speed dial and thankfully she answers.

"Caroline," I start, "Hey, are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine Bella," she says quietly, not at all the Caroline I know. "Thanks for the concern."

"You may be physically fine Caroline but what about mentally?"

"I'm fine," she says more forcibly.

"You can tell me anything Caroline, you know that, right? 'Cause I've been through a ton of crap if you're worried about scaring me because you won't."

She laughs just a bit, "I know that Bella and thanks but I'm going to be fine."

It doesn't escape my notice that she said 'going to be' instead of just 'fine' again. But I trust what Caroline says and don't push her anymore.

"Okay, I'm going to go up to see some of Isobel's research but if you need me just call."

"Yes Bella." She says exasperatedly. "Thanks, I'll see you later."

I hand up and then I slowly start pulling out of the driveway. The drive through town passes quickly and soon I am on my way out of town for the long drive to Duke University.

The traffic was light the entire way up to Duke except for when I hit Durham. But other than that the drive was boring like I expected it to be so I'm glad I brought my music.

The Duke campus looms to my right and I quickly exit my lane to turn into the campus driveway. The building looks like an old castle with peaked roofs and many windows throughout the structure. The huge trees and many flowers make the building more inviting than it would without them.

Parking my car, I cut the engine and make sure that I have my cell phone on me and my large book bag since I'm planning on taking anything that interests me home.

I walk through the two sets of glass doors that Elena told me about and then turn right towards Isobel's office. There is a girl with shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes standing at an old filling cabinet clearly trying to make some sense of the mess of notes and research to no avail. There must be dozens of piles of papers just lying around with seemingly no order.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan." I give her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier to tell you that I was coming but I really need to look at some of Isobel Saltzman's work."

"Why would that be?" She asks, clearly suspicious but I don't blame her because I would be just as suspicious after meeting the last group of people who wanted to see Isobel's work.

I look around quickly to see if anyone is around but since no one is, I feel free to speak without hiding anything, "I want to know more about the Sun and the Moon Curse and my friend Alaric Saltzman directed me to you."

She slowly nods and holds her hand out for me, "I'm Vanessa Monroe but you must already now it if you know Ric." She then freezes as a thought comes to mind and looks me up and down looking more closely at my hands and neck. Rolling my eyes, I push my sweater sleeves up my forearms and push my arms out and flip them over a few times. My bracelet that Damon gave me flops around but there is no lapis lazuli on it, only small lockets that hold the vervain.

"No rings or necklace. I do have a bracelet but it's a vervain bracelet my friend gave me." I pause and unzip my sweater a little to show my neck to her. "I'm human not a vampire so you can leave the crossbow where it is."

Vanessa turns pink at my words before regaining her fire, "Then why are you here?" She asks and closes the filing cabinet with a slam.

"Because I want to know if there is any way around the curse or if you can save the doppelganger somehow."

I nod and follow her as she quickly grabs Isobel's office keys from her desk. She then walks towards a wooden door and quickly opens it before waving me through. There are books shelves on every wall and each level is labeled something different. There is even a little ladder attached to one of the book shelves.

"The books on the Sun and the Moon curse are right ahead of you." Vanessa motions to the bookcase and takes a step closer to the door. At my inquisitive look she stutters, "I'm just going to grab a flashlight."

Slowly I nod and go back to searching the bookcase. Nothing pops out to me at first except for the creepy amount of animal skulls sitting on the shelves. I suppress a small shudder at what they must have looked like when they were alive. I am not good with animals, they freak me out so I just stay away from them.

The next shelf down looks more interesting, it's title reading: _The Curse of the Sun and Moon. _But the last books are the ones that really catch my attention:_ Sun and the Moon Ritual, Moonstone Properties and Bindings._ Quickly I pull them all from the shelf and place them on the nearby desk. I open up the book about the ritual and just barely start reading the first page when Vanessa comes back in the office, hands folded behind her back.

"Finding everything?" She asks and moves to look over my shoulder at the books I currently have.

"Yeah, I think so," I muse and take another look around. "Can you remember any other books that may help me?"

"No, not at the moment," She gives me a small sad smile before her face turns hard. Any emotion in her eyes is gone now.

Before I can take a step back though, she brings her hands in front of her showing off a full needle to me. She slams it down into my left forearm which is still bare from when I pushed my sleeves up. As soon as the needle is in my arm, she pushes down the plunger and waits anxiously for me to keel over in pain from the injection of vervain in my system.

Raising an eyebrow at her I calmly remove the needle before tossing it down to the ground forcibly. Vanessa's eyes widen and she backs away from me in fear. "I'm s-sorry; I just wanted to make sure."

I sneer at her and walk forward causing her to keep walking backwards away from me. "For the last time, I'm not a vampire. Now I'm taking these books whether you like it or not, it's the least you owe me."

The second that she is out the office, I slam the door shut and lock it for extra measure. I don't want her to come after me with the crossbow just because I made her angry. Turning, I fast walk back to the desk I have my books on and gently put the old, crumbling books into my bag. With a sigh, I take one last look around before heading to the door and unlocking it.

Vanessa is leaning against the filing cabinet in the front office with a sour look on her face. She gives me a glare as I walk towards her but I ignore it.

"I'll be leaving with my books now and I'm choosing to ignore your little stunt back there." She rolls her eyes and I glare at her now, "But if you try another trick on me as I leave, I'll have to get one of my friends to come back up here and compel you to forget about everything that happened today."

Slowly, she nods her acceptance and I give her a bright fake smile before leaving, confident that Vanessa won't try anything. She wouldn't risk having her memory swiped just to try another trick.

The moment that I enter town my phone rings in my sweater pocket. I let it ring since I'm close to home so when I pull into the driveway I quickly park. Elena's name is on the screen and I answer it before it goes to voice mail.

"Elena? Are you okay?" I ask worriedly.

"Yeah I was just calling to see how the search for any information went." She retorts.

"Oh, just fine," I exaggerate. "That Vanessa girl didn't try to vervain me at all and never thought that I was a vampire for one second."

Elena gasps, "Are you okay Bella? She didn't use the crossbow on you did she?"

I laugh, "No but that's only because I ousted her on it the minute I got there."

Elena laughs too and there is murmuring on her side of the line, "Stefan says that he's glad you're okay."

"Sure, where are you anyway?" I ask, "I passed your house a few blocks ago but all the lights were off."

"I'm at my family's lake house for the weekend and Jeremy must be at the Grill because Jenna is at that dinner party at Damon's house." She says and I nod to myself as I leave the car and get into my house. I'm glad that I'm not at that dinner party tonight; I'd probably end up yelling at John over something because he irritates me so much. And the fact that Damon is going to kill Elijah tonight is something that would worry me immensely if I was there. I know that if I was Elijah and someone tried to dagger me but failed, I'd be pretty pissed off. So I don't want to be there when Damon's plan unravels, like it will because I have a bad feeling about tonight.

My voice turns sarcastic and I tease, "Oh, I wonder how that's going."

Elena sighs, "It's probably tense and awkward so I'm glad that I'm nowhere near that."

I put the phone between my shoulders and chin so I can have two free hands to unload my bag. "Me too." I put the books on the coffee table and open the closest one to the first page. "Look Elena, I'm going to read some of the books I borrowed from Isobel's stuff and see if anything is important."

"Okay Bella, I'll talk to you later." Elena says and hangs up.

The next two hours are spent sitting on my couch with a mug filled with soda flipping through the _Sun and Moon Ritual _book that I brought home. Unfortunately it is on stuff that I already know from Elena and my friends. It's just more in depth on the actual ritual and sacrifice needed to be done. I only knew that ultimately the werewolf, vampire, and doppelganger had to all be sacrificed but I didn't know that there was a special order to it at all.

First the ritual has to be performed in the birthplace of the doppelganger. The unfortunate witch that Klaus will have with him will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that is bound within the moonstone and then kill the werewolf first. Next the vampire is killed and finally the Petrova doppelganger will be drained to the point of death which then breaks the curse depending upon who broke it.

_The Curse of the Sun and Moon _is just a very thin book explaining the creation of the curse and the beginning of it. Most of the information I already know is from my brief chat with Alaric about it last night before I went to bed.

Any information I find always seems to be repeated again and again. As if the writers of each book couldn't find something new to add so they just repeated from other books already published or added completely ludicrous ideas. I mean, who would believe that alien's would drop down from the sky the second that the curse was broken and help rule the earth with the species that broke the curse?

I finish reading the final book just around ten o'clock and close it with a huff. Again, there was very little to it but it was packed with information, the problem is that I'm not sure if it is reliable or not. Some of it seems very farfetched but after my experiences with the supernatural, I believe that almost anything is possible.

According to the book, the moonstone is the object in which the spell is bound. Technically the spell could be completely useless if the moonstone is destroyed but Bonnie already tried that once with Luka and it didn't work.

Groaning, I stretch my back muscles before getting out of my spot and carefully grabbing the books to put in a safe spot. The idea may be insane but I gently place each book amidst my other books in my boxes and make sure to mix them up. The last place that someone would look for them would be with other books, I hope. And that's if anyone even wants to use the books at some point.

The only thing that I can think of to keep Elena safe now that I have finished reading the books is to have someone take Elena's place, most likely me because I look similar to her. But since she won't allow that, we could convince Stefan to give Elena his blood so when she dies, she will definitely come back to life. The problem is that Elena doesn't want to be a vampire just yet.

The last option that I have found in the books is about a four hundred year old elixir that was made by witches to bring the doppelganger back to life after the sacrifice. The problem is that no one knows where the elixir is and if it would still work after so many years.

But if this is the way that Elijah is planning on protecting Elena, I will trust him because there is simply no other way. Unless I ask Bonnie for help, which will not likely happen any time soon.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! Remeber to review and I'll send you a sneak peak!**


	11. You Found Me

Ch.9 – You Found Me

_You found me, you found me  
Lyin' on the floor  
Surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late  
You found me, you found me  
__**You Found Me – The Fray**_

The sun shines brightly from its mid point in the sky as I drive to the Grill. I don't know why Damon was so adamant that I meet with him this afternoon but I have a feeling that it must be important. If not, he would have just told me over the phone instead. But I'm happy that we are meeting because now I can tell him what little I found in the books.

Damon is inside the Grill already waiting for me with a large plate of fries in front of him. His black hair has fallen into his eyes and I can't help but think that he really does look gorgeous now. His leather jacket fits just right and isn't so baggy that he looks like he is trying so hard for the bad boy act. Instead he just seems to fit the image of a bad boy especially with his 'who cares?' attitude. Chuckling I quickly make my way over to him and grab the fry that he is bring to his lips and eat it for myself.

"Hey," I say with a chuckle at seeing Damon's mock outraged expression and the butterflies in my stomach take off.

"You can't eat my fries."

"Who says? It's a free world after all." I point out with a smug smile.

"I say and of course, I could always take away your free will." He points out with his own smug smile as mine drops.

"But you wouldn't do that because you are the one that gave me the vervain in the first place."

"True, true." He says and pops a fry in his mouth. When he finishes chewing he sighs, "My plan to dagger Elijah didn't work out a hundred percent."

Now I'm worried. Even though Damon's plans are usually the shot first ask questions later type, they mostly work out pretty well. I didn't expect this plan to work out a hundred percent if I' being truthful but I have faith that they did manage to dagger him eventually. "Why, what went wrong?"

He rolls his eyes and asks tiredly, "What didn't go wrong?" At my confused look he continues, "First it seems that if a vampire tries to dagger an Original, the vampire will die so we had to get Alaric to dagger Elijah. Something that John conveniently forgot to mention to us."

I can't help but glare at the table when I hear what John did, "That jerk."

Damon nods, "But then Alaric took the dagger out like we usually do with all of our stakes. But it appears that for an Original to stay dead the dagger must stay in their body."

My eyes widen, "What happened when he woke up?"

"Well of course he was pissed off and considered the deal he had made with Elena void so he went to take her from the lake house but couldn't enter. Luckily I got there just before he did and gave Elena the dagger. She threatened to kill herself unless he remade the deal with her but of course, he thought she was bluffing and she actually had to stab herself."

"What? Damon how could you let her hurt herself like that?" I ask, completely furious with him. I'm sure my eyes are blazing in my fury.

He grabs my hand just before I slam it down to the table and squeezes. I'm still mad but the feeling of Damon's hand on mine is comforting. Softly he says, "She's fine, Bella. Completely fine, Elijah fell for it and Elena stabbed him and then Stefan fed her his blood to heal her."

I nod and relax against the seat, "When did this all get so damn complicated?" I ask rhetorically.

He appears to think about it for a few seconds before saying jokingly, "Probably a few weeks after you left."

It is silent between us before I voice a thought that has been swimming around in my head for the last few minutes, "Why didn't you or Elena call me after Elijah was successfully daggered."

He shrugs, "Elena told me about your day with Vanessa and we agreed that you had enough to deal with for one day and decided to tell you today. If we had told you last night, you would have drove up to the lake house and tried to help even though there wasn't much left to do besides take Elijah back to my house which I did on my own."

I nod slowly in acceptance. They are right, if they had told me last night I would have tried to help which may have been counterproductive. I smile, "At least now I can tell you what I learned from the books I read last night."

Damon nods, "Go ahead, the floor's yours."

I raise an eyebrow but bite my tongue to stop the pun I was going to let lose. "I didn't really learn anything new. It was like everything we already know has been repeated again and again and there is no more information on the curse even though there should be. The curse can't have so little known about it if it was so important, could it?" I vent my frustrations.

Damon nods, "I've thought of something similar to that but decided to let it go because I couldn't get any information out of Elijah."

"Anyway, one books was just more specifics on how the sacrifice needs to be performed but we knew that. The second book is just a thin book on the creation of the curse and the reasons behind it and the third book is on the moonstone." I take another fry and continue, "As we already know the moonstone is where the spell is bound and Bonnie tried to destroy it already but Luka tricked her."

I sigh and rub my hands over my face. I haven't felt this hopeless since taking Calculus these past two years. It's like everything is against us and there is no way to fight against it at all. More than I'd like to admit that during these last two days I wanted to just move back to Forks and live my somewhat ignorant life. But then I think of how the gang has been constantly fighting against one thing or another during these last two years and I would seem weak if I gave up so early in the game.

I sigh and speak with my hands still on my face but I know that Damon can hear me with his stupid sensitive hearing, "The only thing I can think of to keep Elena safe is to either give her vampire blood, have me take her place or-"

"What?" Damon asks loudly and I quickly shush him before he draws even more unnecessary attention to us.

"You didn't just say that you would take her place because if you did then that would be completely stupid of you." When I don't respond Damon's blue eyes flash like cold fire, "You did! Why would you do that Bella? It's almost a guaranteed death…" Damon trails off. His eyes soften at some thought and he continues slowly. "You want to give up if you can't be with Edward. I get it but Bella-"

This time I cut him off, eyes wide and shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. "What? I wouldn't do that! I'm not a weak girl that would rather kill herself than be with a boy Damon; I thought you knew me better."

I reach over to punch his shoulder but he catches my hand in his and gently puts it on the table. He puts his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry but what else would I think, you only broke up barely a week ago."

I shake my head, "That doesn't mean that I'd want to kill myself over losing him. The real reason why I wanted to take Elena's place was to let Elena live her human life without being forced to choose whether or not to be a vampire. Elijah said that I could be dressed up as Elena and Klaus wouldn't notice the difference so when Klaus was at his weakest, Elijah would kill him."

Damon glares at me, "You already talked to Elijah about this? When did you have the time to do that?"

I shrug, "The same night that John gave you the dagger."

"You're not going to take Elena's place, end of discussion." Damon says firmly and I roll my eyes.

"Alright but the only other way that could keep her safe was an ancient elixir but I have no clue where it is."

"Then that isn't even a choice because we shouldn't spend our limited time looking for some silly elixir that may or may not work." Damon says logically and I can't help but agree. It would be stupid to look for the elixir if we don't know for sure that it will work.

"What else have I missed?" I ask and mentally prepare myself for anything. Nothing seems impossible in this town and I've learned in just the last few days to expect the unexpected.

"It seems that when we daggered Elijah, his compulsive on Katherine wore out and she left the tomb. She pretended to be Elena this morning and is trying to convince us that she wants to help us, which I really don't believe." Damon says with a snarl.

Over the last two years when Damon has called me we have been talking about his toxic relationship with Katherine. At first when I would broach the subject Damon would snap at me and hang up the phone but would still answer his phone the very next day when I called him. There were some pretty huge fights during that time but we got over them.

Now he is at the point where he understands that he may have loved her while he was human but it was toxic and corrosive to both his mind and his relationship with his brother. Just knowing that Katherine was spending the nights with Stefan and dating both him and his brother made Damon feel like he wasn't good enough and that he would never be loved. That is why he stayed with Katherine because he thought that he would have a chance with her because he wouldn't love anyone else.

His relationship with Katherine also almost completely destroyed his relationship with his brother. They still fight and argue more often than not but they still would save the other, even if the odds were bad. But I can see the relationship is growing again, even if Damon doesn't want to admit to it.

The next hour is spent just teasing each other and talking about nothing really, all the while eating fries. But I have to admit that a good portion of the fries were throw at each other and ended up scattered around the booth on the ground.

But our fun had to end because I got a call from Mark, the furniture guy that called this morning, telling me that he and his helper would be in by mid-afternoon. I had to leave the Grill to go and let them in the house and direct them to put which boxes where. Then when Mark and his helper left, I turned on my music quite loud and danced around the house while opening boxes and putting certain furniture away.

I collapse onto my bed just as I finish putting the final pillow on it. I didn't quite realize how much energy was drained while dancing and unpacking. I still feel really wired from being excited about decorating my new house and I seriously need to get rid of the excess energy.

Quickly I change into some warm jogging clothes since the sun is setting and the temperature is slowly but surely dropping. Once I leave the house, I turn and run towards the back yard to check it out. I haven't explored the woods behind it just yet but I have been planning to since I moved here. Now is the perfect time.

There are no low hanging branches until about a hundred feet into the forest and thankfully there are very few fallen logs. My balance has improved somewhat over the last few weeks so I don't trip nearly as much and it makes jogs so much more relaxing.

A loud snap draws my attention away from the path in front of me and I turn towards it. I slow down to a walk and look around, waiting for a lost dog to come jumping out of the trees and scare the pants off me. I don't have to wait long though because in the distance I can see a large black blur making its way towards me. I slip one foot back a couple inches to steady my stance just in case the dog jumps at me and tries to knock me down.

The black blur comes zooming out of the trees heading directly towards me and I notice that the blur is much too big to be any type of dog so I duck and twist out of the way. I had a friend in Phoenix that had three huge Wolfhounds in her house and this black blur is taller than they were which immediately tells me that it isn't a dog.

Slowly I stand back up and my eyes dart all around me to see if I can spot the mystery person who is most likely a vampire because of the speeds they were running at. After a few moments though, I don't see any movement. The vampire must have just been passing through and accidently hit me.

I turn around to go back to my house only to see Elena standing directly in front of me. I stumble in shock, "Elena what are you doing out here? You scared me…" I trail off as I take in her curly hair and evil smile that she is shooting me. Though I haven't met Katherine face to face yet, all the stories everyone has told me fit the description of the person in front of me.

My eyes widen but my mind is already formulating a plan. I fake a step to the left and when Katherine overcompensates I run to the right and then start heading in the general direction of civilization. But something hits me in the back and I fall hard to the ground. My hands break most of my fall but unfortunately there was quite a large dip in the ground where my right hand ended up and my momentum sends me falling farther to the right. I roll with it and a stray branch scratches my lower back quite deeply.

A noise of pain escapes my lips and I grimace at the pain. I can feel the blood saturating the back of my top but I ignore it as Katherine smirks at me as she stands above me.

"It's nothing personal," she says with an innocent smile but her eyes are saying something completely different. "You're just a snack and even if you look like Elena for some reason."

My breathing is heavy but I keep myself from freaking out even more and slowly move my right hand to my front pocket of my pants to get my phone. Luckily I get the phone out of my pocket before Katherine can notice but then my luck runs out. Katherine is a perfect predator as she sees my hand start to dial and raises her booted foot above it and stomps down before I can react. I let out a high pitching scream of agony but it is cut off as Katherine's hand covers my mouth as she kneels down next to me. Tears stream from the corners of my eyes at the pain but I try my best to shut it out.

"You weren't going to call for help, were you?" She asks in a fake hurt voice though her eyes glint with malice and grabs the phone from my useless hand. With barely a twitch of her hand muscles, the plastic groans in protest before it snaps.

My eyes look at my useless hand and I notice that it is bleeding heavily for some reason. I turn my head and look at the boot Katherine used to break my wrist and sure enough, the heel has some of my blood on it. Indicating that she punctured an artery or vein when she stomped on my hand and from the amount of blood, I'm guessing it was one of the more important ones.

Black spots dot my vision as the sight and smell of the blood starts to get to me. I blink rapidly to get rid of them and they disappear momentarily. Katherine slowly smiles at me before darting for my neck and I can feel her teeth graze my neck before she is pulled away.

Weakly I twist my neck to see what happened but the black spots come back with a vengeance. My eyes slip closed and the darkness swallows me whole.

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**AN: Thanks for all the love from the last chapter! I know that I said I would post this chapter two Thursdays ago and that didn't happen, I had a problem with my laptop that had to be fixed. Then I went on vacation and didn't get back until late last night.**

**Disclaimer: I do no own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Tell me what you think in a review! I'll send a preview to the next chapter, which I will post tomorrow.**


	12. Damon's POV

**AN: As you can see from the title of this chapter, this will be Damon's POV over the entire story from the beginning of knowing Bella to the end of last chapter and on further. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Enjoy!**

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Ch. 10 – Damon's POV

The first time that I saw Miss Isabella Swan in Mystic Falls was two years ago in the Grill. I was immediately mesmerized by her sharp, sense heightening scent. Strawberries and lilacs were all that I could think about for the hours that she was in the Grill.

So obviously when she left I was going to make a meal out of her if she smelled so good but she ran into her hotel before I could get to her. But that doesn't mean that I didn't watch her for the rest of her time in Mystic Falls. I never expected to see her while I was in the woods with my blonde blood bag and I tried to play it off but Bella had started to run before I could talk to her.

Of course, then I told her my entire story which shocked the hell out of me. I never tell someone I just meet my entire story, I usually never tell anyone my entire story period. I don't know why I didn't just compel her to forget everything that happened, I should have but it just didn't occur to me. And I'm the one that turns to compelling whenever a situation gets tough.

But over the next two years, Bella doesn't make me regret not compelling her for a second. She is something that I have always wanted in a real friend with blatant truth to the point that it infuriates me, protective of her friends and almost as stubborn as I am. Except you can get Bella to back down with common sense while with me you have to manipulate.

When Charlie called me to visit him in Forks I never thought for even a moment that I would see Bella pull up in a monster truck from school. Not that I wasn't happy though, I was ecstatic that she was there until I remembered the reason why Charlie called me to Forks. It seems that no matter where Bella goes, she always attracts danger to her. So it would only be appropriate that she started hanging out with another coven of vampires and Cold Ones to make it worse.

When she introduced me to her Cold One boyfriend I have to admit that I was insanely jealous even though I had no right to be. Bella sure is attractive, any red blooded male can see that with her big brown doe eyes and long brown hair. Her sharp cheekbones and round bottom are something that attracts attention for sure, but she's just my friend and can't be anything else. Even though a little nagging voice in the back of my head that I like her and should kiss her or ask her out at the most inopportune times. Like when I was comforting her over her break up with assward and giving her my advice.

That's just one side of my brain though and it is rather small compared to the other part, this one is the part that likes Bella for good reasons that make sense. But the larger part is constantly reminding me

Bella's admittance of how the Cullen's treated her had me boiling with anger and I regret taking that Jerkward down when I had the chance. Then when the memories popped up and started tormenting Bella I knew that I had to get her away from Forks and everything it reminded her off. I couldn't take her on a weeklong vacation either because the problem wouldn't be solved at all, it would just be waiting at her home. That's when my brilliant idea of having her move to Mystic Falls was discussed and agreed upon. And the other reason I wanted her closer to me was because if she was closer to me, I could make sure she was safer, after all she is a danger magnet. After that it was surprisingly easy to convince Charlie to let Bella get her own house especially because all the vampires would have to be let in specifically by her.

I was so proud when Bella spoke her mind to Elena when Elena was trying to get me to be a good guy or as Elena sees it, Stefan's backup. When I first noticed Elena, I admit that I just went after her because she looked like Katherine and intrigued me. But after Bella helped me realize what Katherine really did to me and my relationships with everyone, my reason for knowing Elena changed. It changed subtely and slowly but it did change and I didn't notice it until a few weeks ago. I was after Elena because Stefan had her and I wanted what Stefan had but then Elena started wanting to change me. She wanted to change me into a back up Stefan that she could have when Stefan was occupied.

Even though I know that, I can't help but care for her, thankfully in more of a friend way. I see Elena as a good friend who was there for me through some tough times and not as someone that I want to give my heart to.

Bella didn't care too much if she hurt Elena's feelings because she was speaking her mind and I helped her understand that she doesn't need to feel guilty about being blunt. Before Bella would say exactly what she was thinking and then apologize for it not two seconds later when she didn't need to but now she doesn't do that anymore since I have helped her.

And the fact that Bella doesn't agree with Elena that I have to change is something else that puts her in my good books. Bella accepts me for who I am even with all the bad things I have done in the past. Then I got to return the acceptance when John announced that Bella was Elena's twin. But John couldn't just come out with it; we all had to pry it out of him like we were pulling out one tooth at a time. He hinted at it for a few moments before giving in and announcing it.

But of course, when Barbie was going home she had to get kidnapped by the she-wolf with a grudge. Then Stefan and I had to go and save her while Bella and Elena were left to deal with both John and Elijah within an hour of each other.

From what Bella told me today while we were eating in the Grill, I have to really think that she may be going crazy being surrounded with all this supernatural. Her brain must have cracked sometimes over the last two years if she wants to take Elena's place during the sacrifice while fully knowing that it is a death sentence. She's insisting that she is just trying to keep Elena safe but I think that she is suicidal.

I've heard about Bella using reverse psychology before on her friends from Forks so that they would feel bad when she actually hurt them when she played gym. Apparently it works well and she out manipulated John which is a feat in itself but she got him to give us the dagger. My Bella is so full of surprises and I wouldn't change a thing about her. What John didn't tell us was that it must stay in the Original's body and that a human must use the dagger or else the vampire that tries to dagger the Original dies. We had a little bit of problems with that but in the end, Elijah is now safely daggered in the basement of my house.

I open my front door and blur towards the tree line to the left of my house. I'm going to see if I can talk Bella out of her death wish again but this time I want to run instead of drive. I don't know what it is about running but it makes me feel like nothing can ever touch me. Like since I'm running so fast that no one will get to me and more importantly I won't be hurt again. Plus, running helps blow off some of my anger.

Just as I pass the mid-point between my house and hers my sensitive ears picks up a loud scream. It is high pitched and I swear that even without my supernatural hearing, I could've heard it. I don't think too much of it, thinking that maybe Katherine got to someone until I realize that it is coming in the direction of Bella's house. My eyes widen with this realization and the only thing that I can think is 'please, no' over and over.

It is official this girl who is my friend has made the top two list of who I should worry about. Only following after myself, of course. I want Bella to be more than just a friend though; I want her to be my girlfriend. That may not happen soon though since it is barely even a week after her break up with Edward.

My enhanced sight zones in on the picture of Katherine talking to Bella and Bella whimpering in pain. My stomach churns in worry just the thought of Bella in pain changes me into a softie. The scene before me turns a slight shade of red as my furry falls over my vision and I push myself to run faster as I see Katherine start to lunge towards Bella.

I get there just in time. My body crashes into Katherine's and sends us tumbling and spinning. When we finally land on the ground we keep tumbling and I hurriedly get to my feet. Katherine is already standing and lunges towards me, arms extended. I shouldn't have underestimated her; she has had more years than I have in fighting skills.

One of her hands goes to the back of my head while the other goes to my shoulder as my right hand snaps forward and clocks her dead in the nose. Katherine stumbles back slightly in shock before glaring at me in pure anger. "Why are you here Damon?"

"What do you think you're doing?" I snarl back.

"Don't you know me, Damon. I always want to have a little fun with my food because I eat." She smirks at me and I scowl, remembering how close her teeth were from Bella's slim, white neck.

"So, why are you stopping me from my meal?" She snarls at my before her face clears and her malicious eyes try to turn soft and innocent. "I'm just having a little fun Damon, that's all. Don't you remember when we used to have fun?" She asks as she coyly runs her index finger down the length of my arm.

If Katherine had come back to me fifty years ago and tried to do this, I would have turned into a puddle of goo at her words, that's how much she had me wrapped around her fingers. I would have done anything for her and most likely would have been cheated on numerous times but I would have forgiven her. Now though with Bella's help and my willingness to let Katherine go, Katherine's words mean nothing and all they do is make me angrier.

I roughly pull my arm out of her reach and take a step back, "I would rather forget everything that I did with you."

Her innocent expression melts away, she snarls at me and then blurs away. The forest is quiet as I stand absolutely still, waiting for Katherine to come back with a sneak attack. After a few seconds the wind picks up and blows the scent of Bella's blood towards me. I can feel my fangs elongate and my eyes change in hunger but it force that side of me deep down, I am not going to hurt Bella.

Turning back to Bella, I blur towards her and scan her over. Her head and neck look perfectly fine but her right wrist is obviously broken and bleeding very heavily. If I don't get that bleeding stopped, she will surely bleed out within the next ten minutes or less. But that can't be the only spot where she is bleeding from if the entire one side of her t-shirt is covered in blood. Gently I run a finger down her side and curse under my breath at the stream of blood I feel.

This time I let my vampire face take over as I bite down hard on my wrist. The blood immediately starts dripping so I move it towards Bella's full lips so she can quickly heal. Bella doesn't move so I use my other hand to open her mouth and let the blood drop into her mouth. I breathe a sigh of relief when she starts to swallow little by little as she regains her strength until she is sucking on my wrist. It feels more amazing than I ever thought it would to have her lips on my skin and silently I promise myself to have more contact with those luscious lips soon.

Gently I pull my wrist from her mouth as her heart beat gains strength and steady rhythm. I brush a lock out hair out of her face before quickly but carefully gathering her in my arms and walking back to her house. I put her down on the couch, making sure to put a pillow underneath her head. I know she's told me before that whenever she accidently falls asleep on the couch, she gets sore neck muscles. I don't want her to be sore.

Her face is relaxed and free of the stress lines that mar her face daily now that she knows all that is happening in this town. I can't help but think that she looks much better now, just so relaxed and at peace. But she also looks so vulnerable, like that at any moment Edward Cullen will come flying into the house and shout his love for her at the top of his lungs. That would tear down her perception of what happened in the woods even though that would never happen.

She'd surprise Edward though if he ever did come back for her. Now that she has realized what really happened those months in Forks, she'd tear that Cullen to shreds and wouldn't care for his stupid hair either. Bella has a hidden strength, always has but it was somehow suppressed while she was dating him. I'd pay good money to see her yell at that Cold One, as long as I was in the room though. Cold Ones have terrible rage issues and I don't want her along with another one ever again.

Bella's eye lashes flutter gently as she slowly comes to just as the sun starts rising. Bella lays there and stares at the ceiling in confusion for a few moments. Suddenly, she bolts upright but groans at the sudden movement and moves a hand to her forehead. She must be feeling some of the side effects of my blood.

"Easy, easy," I murmur as I reach out slowly to touch her shoulder, I push gently on it and force her to lie back down. "The headache will go away in a few hours and the blood will leave your system in about twenty-four hours."

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**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and read it at all. It makes me so happy that people like my work and my ideas that I continue to write even when my days are very tiring and long.**

**Remember to review and I'll send you a sneak peak!**


	13. Powerless

**AN: I officially suck at responding to review! I tried to respond to them but school and basketball have taken a lot of my time. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed or has ever reviewed, they are each little pieces of gold that brighten my day. Please continue to review and I'll make it my goal to respond to eacha and everyone as soon as possible.**

**A few chapters ago a reviewer asked if we were ever going to see the Cullen's again. Let's just say that there are a few characters back.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries.**

**Enjoy and tell me what you think in a review!**

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Ch. 11 – Powerless

_You woke the devil that  
I thought you'd left behind  
I saw the evidence  
the crimson soaking through  
ten thousand promises  
ten thousand ways to lose  
__**Powerless – Linkin Park**_

**Bella POV**

Blood? What blood? I am seriously considering that Damon has finally lost his marbles. Of course there is blood in my system, I need blood to live. I give him an incredulous stare, "Of course I have blood in my system, and I need it to live." I say sarcastically.

"Well, of course," he teases. "But you were losing too much blood after your confrontation with Katherine so I had to give you some of mine."

I groan, "Oh, right." I playfully glare up at him, "Your ex-girlfriend is a psychopath."

"Yes, she is." Damon nods before he suddenly remembers something, I can practically see the little light bulb in his head turn on. His eyes turn hard and now it's his turn to glare down at me, "What were you doing outside anyway? Were you actively searching for something?"

My eyes narrow in irritation and I slowly sit up. Damon moves from couching in front of me to sitting on the couch with me. Does he really think that I always go looking for trouble? I guess he does from what he just said. "No, I was not looking for anything; I just wanted to go for a walk around my property then I heard a noise and stopped to see what it was and Katherine attacked me. Does she even know about me?"

"No because you she hasn't seen you with us yet. She knows about a Bella Swan who is our friend and Elena's sister but doesn't have a face to put with that name just yet."

I nod, "But she will know soon I'm guessing, especially when she'll wonder why you stopped her from eating me."

"How does she know I wouldn't stop her from eating any girl?" Damon asks my sarcastically and I roll my eyes.

"Because whether you like it or not Damon, she knows you, at least a small part of you. She-"

"A tiny, infinitesimal, microscopic part of me," Damon cuts me off and I roll my eyes with a laugh.

"The point is, she knows that you would only stop a vampire from feeding if you and your brother were getting close to being found out or if you cared about the person."

He shrugs his shoulders and smiles, "Well that's good because now she won't come back for another snack."

"I'll stake her if she does," I mutter under my breath and Damon laughs.

"Get in line, sweetheart." He teases. His soft voice makes my heart stutter and turn to mush and he doesn't even know it. I want to tell Damon my feelings for him but I don't because I'm scared. Scared that he won't feel the same or will and break my heart eventually. Damon is a player and has broken hearts all around the world.

After a moment, my thoughts turn serious, "What are we going to do about Katherine?"

Damon sighs and rubs his neck with one calloused hand. "Well, we can't forcibly keep her out of anything without an Original compelling her and the only Original that was on our side is daggered in my basement."

"So we just let her help?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "No, we let her think that she is onto all of our plans because if Klaus catches her and compels our plans out of her we're screwed."

"Okay, so then what's the plan?"

Damon leans a little closer and whispers, "Apparently Elijah thought that a witch with enough power to kill an Original, but they'd need a lot of power."

"So where are you getting that power?" I ask.

"There is a house far out of town where a hundred dead witches are burned and when a witch dies violently, they leave an energy spot. We were going to have Bonnie channel that power but then Papa Witch took her powers."

"Did you find the spot?" I ask, curiously. If they did this could change the entire game.

"No, not yet but Stefan and I are going through John Gilbert's journals for clues of where it is."

"But-" I begin my protest but am cut off by the ringing of my home phone. I sigh and move around Damon and into the kitchen. I'm going to need to buy a new cell phone now that Katherine broke my old one, and I'm going to need one soon with all the chaos that is happening around here.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Bella? Why aren't you answering your cell phone?" Elena asks and her voice sounds off, like she is really worried about something.

I shrug a shoulder even if she can't see me, "Katherine broke it last night while I was on my walk. I'm going to need to buy another one."

Elena gasps and her words spew out, "Are you okay? She didn't hurt you did she?"

I shake my head, "Not anymore. So why did you call me?"

"Katherine's out of the tomb but I guess that you already know that." She says.

I gulp and glare at Damon, "Yes because I saw her last night and Damon explained to me yesterday how she got out."

He gives me a sheepish grin and Elena sighs, "Yeah, Katherine taunted Stefan and I yesterday morning. Let me tell you, it's not fun watching yourself be a bitch."

"What did you tell her?" I ask.

"I told her to leave but she said something about us needing her to help kill Klaus. I don't know, I wasn't really listening all that well but I got the general idea of it."

I nod, "Okay, I have school today so I'll see you there."

"Okay, bye Bella."

I look at the time on my phone and curse when I realize that I'll be late unless I hurry it up. I head upstairs and change into some clean clothes and pull my hair back into a sloppy bun as I rush back downstairs.

"I gotta go Damon; I'll talk to you later." I try to leave quickly but Damon blurs towards me and stops me with a hand on my wrist.

His face is worried as he gently says, "Bella, if you get killed anytime today, you will turn into a vampire."

"I know."

He nods, "Good, I'm just warning you because I know of your history of bad luck."

"I'll be fine Damon my bad luck most likely won't pick today to kill me."

He looks deep into my eyes and for a few moments I am lost in his ice blue eyes. They seem to go on forever and if I'm not careful I could fall into them and never come out again. "You're a danger magnet Bella knowing you, you will get hurt today so I'm just asking you to be very careful today."

I try to walk around Damon but he steps in front of me again and blocks the way out. "Give me your word."

It figures that Damon would want me to give him my word. He knows that I will sneak out of any promise so instead he asks me to give him my word so I am bound to it. I know it's very similar to a promise but for some reason I can't break my word or at least I haven't been able to break it yet.

"I give you my word Damon."

Damon nods his acceptance and I easily step around him now to get to the front door. "And don't have too much fun." He teases.

I roll my eyes and give him a wide fake smile and say, "Okay but does punching John count as fun? Because that is a for sure thing that I'm going to do, unless someone does it before me."

I shut the door on him and start to head for my car when I remember something. I jog back up to my door and Damon opens it before I can. He has a big smirk on his face as he leans against the door stop, "Can I help you?"

I roll my eyes but let out a little smile, "Yes, you could go and get me another phone since Katherine broke my other one."

Damon nods, "I'll do that sometime today."

"Thanks Damon." I reply and hurry to my car. I start the car and easily back out of the driveway and onto the road. From there I head in the direction the school.

The walk into the school just reminds me how much I hate being a new kid. The stares, the whispers and especially the dumb questions. I mean, how obvious is, "You're the new kid, right?" People should at least try to start a conversation better than that. But that's just me.

The halls are filled with students going to their classes and I try to find one of my friends to talk to but can't. I'd be happy to even see Jeremy just so that I could know someone here and they could show me around. My eyes land on Caroline talking to Matt and it seems serious. Caroline has told me that the last couple of days have been very confusing for her with her developing feelings for Tyler despite being Matt's girlfriend.

I walk into hearing distance just as Matt says, "Just make a decision and leave me alone." Then he leaves her looking sad off into space.

I put my hand on her shoulder and she jumps slightly in shock. I guess she was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't hear me come up behind her. "It'll be okay Caroline, I'm sure."

"How can you be?" She asks miserably.

I give her a small smile, "I just trust in it and hope for the best Care, that's all you really can do."

Caroline shakes her head like she is shaking away the bad thoughts and a happy smile graces her face. "I'll show you around Bella, I don't want you to walk around clueless."

"Thanks Caroline," I say gratefully.

The next ten minutes is spent with Caroline helping tell me where all of my classes are and the quickest routes to get there. She even showed me to my locker where I dropped off my jacket before locking it and going to first period which happened to be history.

Ric gave me a smile as I handed him my form and he let me grab a desk near the back of the room. He didn't even call on me once which I am eternally grateful for since I was never good at history. As the bell rings after class I walk up to Alaric's desk.

"Hey, Bella, what can I do for you?" He asks with a smile.

I look down suddenly embarrassed. "Well, I've never been that good at history ever so I was hoping that you could help tutor me sometime."

He nods, "Sure, no problem."

"Listen Ric, I know that I've only been here for a short time but I hope that you and Jenna overcome John's meddling."

Alaric pauses and seems to gauge my sincerity. He must see how true my words are because he gives me a smile and says, "Thanks Bella, that's means a lot."

I smile at him, "Thanks again Ric, I'll see you later."

My next class is a spare so I spend that time going over the floor plan of the school and trying to understand History a little better but it is futile. After spare the rest of the day passes by in a flash and soon the final bell rings. The kids all rush out of the classrooms and hurry towards their cars, eager to get away from the school. I follow behind them leisurely just soaking up the sun and the amazing fact that it isn't raining like it did in Forks.

I unlock my car, climb in and immediately roll down the windows. I turn on my stereo and plug in my iPod for the short drive back to my house. As I turn down street after street, a knot develops in my stomach that tells me something is wrong.

I'm just pulling up in front of my house when I realize what it wrong. Or more accurately, who. I slam on the brakes in shock when I see Alice peak her head out from behind my house, motion me towards her and then disappear. By this time, the shock has been replaced by anger. I park and lock my car, noticing a black Mercedes parked on the other side of the street. I glare at it, hopping it will spontaneously combust before stomping towards my backyard.

I turn the corner and immediately see all seven Cullen's standing in a line facing me. Their expressions are blank and emotionless to me which fuels my anger. I stop ten feet from them and cross my arms defiantly over my chest. "What are you all doing here?" I hiss at them, eyes narrowed into slits.

"We came to welcome you back into the family Bella." Esme starts.

I laugh darkly and sneer at them, "Yeah, everyone always misses the family _pet._"

They all look surprised at my words and tone. Alice blinks and says, "Bella, you're more than that to us. We all loved you and missed you so much that we went back to Forks to find you but you were gone. Charlie told us you moved here and we came down to ask you to come back with us."

I look at her in confusion. Why are they pretending that I don't know exactly what I am to them? Why are they back now? The only reason I can think of to both questions is that they want to clean up their mess before the Volturi catches wind of it. My eyes widen and I start laughing quietly to myself as I pull out my phone. I quickly type in a message to Damon, knowing he'll be here soon to cause some hell.

**Bella: **I have a Cold One problem in my backyard.

"What are you doing, love?" Edward asks me, looking at me like someone would a patient in the psychiatric ward.

"Don't call me that," I practically growl at him. "You don't have that right anymore, not since you broke up with me."

"She's right, you know." Damon's voice calls out from somewhere behind me and I sigh in relief. Now that Damon's here I don't need to worry about saying the wrong thing or being manipulated again. I know he'll protect me. "None of you have any say in what she does in her life anymore. I bet you're only here for one reason and it has nothing to do with love."

I nod, it seems Damon has come to the same conclusion as I have. Damon stops beside me and offers me his silent support since he can't be slowed down if he holds my hand.

Carlisle, always the diplomat, tries to see what we know, "Why do you think we're here?"

"You all want to clean up the mess you left behind with me knowing about vampires before the Volturi catches wind of it and kill you. Or worse, makes you change me and have me as a member of your coven." The truth hurts; a painful stabbing at my heart like someone is sticking a pin in it again and again. The hurt will fade though, everything fades over time.

"Come with us Bella," Edward says, eyes wide and trying to dazzle me into submission and completely ignoring what I said.

I shake my head, "Just leave me alone for the rest of my life."

Edward shares a look with Alice a moment before they move. Alice darts to our right and Damon's eyes follow her. Edward takes the split second distraction and blurs to my side, grabbing me in his arms and blurring back to his family. I try to kick and squirm out of his hold to no use; his arms are rock solid around me.


	14. The House Guest

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter! **

**Sorry for the late update but I have news, today my basketball team had conferences and we are going onto Regionals! We are one of the top 16 teams that get to go for our age group and hopefully we will go to Provincials!**

**My updating schedule will be a little hecktick for the next week with practices and multiple essays for school but I will update once this next week. Promise!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.12 – The House Guest

Damon looks at me, his eyes wide in shock for a moment before he masks it. No one would have even noticed it, unless they know him really well like I do. I make eye contact with Damon and try to reassure him that I'll be fine, that he'll help me.

Damon smirks, winks at me and then takes off into the forest. Edward, obviously dumb enough to think Damon's left, starts pulling me towards the front yard where their car is. "Come on Bella, let's go home."

Damon leaps from the trees and lands on Edward's shoulders hard. I can feel the thump through Edward's body and Damon's surprise attack allows Edward to loosen his grip just enough for me to wiggle out. I take five steps back immediately, making sure to keep all the Cullen's in my line of sight. Damon reaches for Edward's throat and grips it as he leans backwards precariously until I can see Edward's marble skin start to separate under the stress. Damon lets go of Edward's head and jumps off his shoulders only to grab his left arm and tear it from its socket.

Damon steps back towards me, waving the arm around cockily with his usual smirk. "Now, I suggest that you all leave here and never involve yourselves in Bella's life again. Or I will rip you all apart and burn the pieces and dance all over them."

I smile at Damon's back, so glad that he is in my life, even if it is just in a friend capacity. Someday though, I hope that Damon will feel more towards me but if not, I'll just live with it. I won't manipulate him that Katherine did to him or the Cullen's did to me.

The Cullen's nod slowly and Damon tosses Edward's arm back to them. Edward catches it with his free hand and the Cullen's all give me one last look before blurring towards their car without looking back. I sign in relief when I hear their car pull away and let myself smile at the fact that it's all over know. I won't have to deal with the Cullen's ever again or see them again.

Damon turns around, a smug smile on his face. "Man, that felt good. You wouldn't believe how long I have wanted to tear into that guy for hurting you."

"Thanks Damon," I say gratefully. If Damon wasn't here, I would've been taken against my will and I maybe have never seen my friends again.

"You're welcome Bella." Damon says, looking seriously in my eyes. "I have some things to do now if you're okay, but I can stay if you want."

"No, you go. I'm just going to get cleaned up before going over to Elena's for girl's night." I say and head towards the house, Damon following close behind. I stop just inside my house, Damon on the other side of the door.

"Alright," he says, slowly looking me over for any injuries. "If you need me, just call and I'll be their soon. Even if it's just to help you escape," he says and winks at me. I roll my eyes and shut the door.

After having the fastest shower ever, I put on some clean clothes and try to figure out why I'm not more rattled at seeing the Cullen's. Shouldn't I be worrying and going over everything they said with a fine-toothed comb?

I don't feel any different than when I first woke up to now. Maybe that means that I'm finally over the Cullen's. But what about the pain I felt when hearing the truth about why they were back. The only logical explanation I have for that though is that it wasn't the Cullen's themselves that caused the pain and more the reason. Ever since finding out what the Cullen's where and even moving to Mystic Falls now I've always been the weak human that can't do anything. I want to change that image but it's hard when no one will let you try to help.

Shaking those thoughts off I grab my jacket, and leave the house, just barely remembering to lock the door behind me.

I get in my car and quickly pull out of my parking space and heading home to change and get some food for a girl's night at Elena's house. I guess that with Katherine still being here, Caroline's drama with Matt, and Bonnie losing her powers we are having a night to ourselves for once.

I've never really had a girls night before, sure sometimes I would hang out with Angela but it was mostly to do homework together or study for exams.

Just as I pull up to my house my new cell phone rings. Damon had dropped it off in my locker while I was at school and I haven't had the time to thank him yet. I pull it out of my jeans pocket and open my front door before looking down at the screen. I roll my eyes but answer, "I just saw you not ten minutes ago, what are you going to tell me?" Remembering how I'm talking to him I add, "And thanks for getting me a new phone, by the way."

"I'm glad you are but I didn't call for that reason," Something in Damon's voice causes me to slow my journey through the kitchen for snacks down and to really listen to him.

"What is it Damon?"

"Luka tried to undagger Elijah today in a ghost-like form and I killed him with the flame thrower."

My eyes widen and I can't help but feel sad for Luka's death. Even though he and his father were working with Elijah, they were just trying to get their sister back. I wonder how Jonas is handling this but I'm guessing not too well.

"Damon, Jonas is going to be mad and looking for revenge now." I warn him and start my search for food up again. Finally in the last cupboard I find a lone bag of chips which I grab and hurry back out to my car.

"I know so be careful."

I roll my eyes at that one, "Sure Damon, you too."

Then I end the call and drive over to Elena's house for girls' night. Hopefully Jonas won't do anything tonight; we already have had so much drama for one day.

* * *

Girls' night was a success; we even had Jenna join us. We were upbeat for most of the night but then the conversation got sad again as we tried to help Jenna understand why Ric can't tell her something without giving that something away. Or sounding biased.

Caroline, feeling the down mood, suggested that we all go dancing at the Grill which we all agreed too. Bonnie seems to be in the ignoring me phase now but I am truly okay with that. I don't know what her problem is but since it isn't hurting me or any of the others, I don't really care.

The band seems really good tonight. I was expecting a local band that would suck but I'm genuinely surprised.

"I'm going to get a drink," Jenna says when she sees Ric walking around.

Caroline tries to talk to Matt when he walks past but he completely ignores her. Her face drops in disappointment as Bonnie says quietly, "Awkward."

I turn to the bar to check on Jenna and it seems that she and Ric are talking but I now they aren't really talking. If they were Jenna wouldn't look so angry, instead she'd probably look shocked.

I turn back to my friends just as Bonnie says, "He said the ball's in your court."

Caroline seems at a loss for words, "Yeah but I can't… do anything about it."

"Why not?" I ask, "All you do is talk about how much you care about him. Show him instead."

She looks towards me, eyes pleading to help. "Yeah but I'm still keeping so many secrets from him."

Elena's eyes dart to Ric before landing on Caroline, "Alaric's in the same boat as Jenna, maybe our problem is keeping them out of it but in the end we are hurting them."

Caroline looks towards the stage and I smile as I catch onto what she is going to do. "Go for it," I whisper, knowing that she will hear me. Caroline gives me a smile and hands me her jacket before walking up to the stage.

Caroline is amazing up on stage, I never knew that she could sing but she is so good. The song that she chose to sing for Matt is perfect too and Matt suddenly jumps up on stage and kisses her. He then dips her down and kisses her again and the crowd goes wild.

Caroline and Matt go towards the bathroom and I make a mental note not to go in there for the night. Elena and Bonnie split up and I go grab a chair and sit down to listen to the band more. A couple of songs later, I feel my cell phone vibrating in my jeans pocket. I take it out and see Damon's name on the screen. I have a feeling that this must be important so I walk away from the band a little more.

"Damon?" I ask.

"Bella, Jonas is heading to the Grill to kill Elena since we killed his son."

"What?" I ask shocked and look frantically around for Elena. When I can't find her I start walking around. "Where's Elena?"

"Don't worry Stefan called her and is getting her out of there and don't worry if you see Elena there again, that's just Katherine helping out. I need you to get everyone else out of there before Jonas gets there."

My eyes land on the front door as it opens and a very angry Dr. Martin walks in, "That's going to be a problem." I mutter.

"Why?" Damon asks.

"Because he is already here."

"Hurry it up then Bella and be careful." Bonnie starts walking towards Jonas but I stop her before she can get too close.

"Bonnie, you don't want to do that." I say and slowly start steering her to the front door.

"Why not?" Her eyes are angry at me for stopping her from talking to Jonas.

"Because Luka is dead and his father is out for revenge on Elena," Bonnie looks frantically around for Elena like I did and I regain her attention by snapping my fingers in her face. "Stefan got Elena out and Katherine is coming here to pretend to be Elena but you need to help me get everyone else out."

"Okay," Bonnie says and goes to talk to Dr. Martin. I don't know what she said but it must tick him off because the lights on the one side of the room pops and a bunch of sparks come raining down. I practically jump out of my skin in shock and I try to calm my racing heart but it speeds up again when he pops more lights. The crowd jumps, startled and starts to quickly make their way to the nearest exit.

I speed walk over to Bonnie and Jonas just as he speaks, "No one's getting out of here until I have her."

I crowd is rushing towards the doors in a panic and it is hard to push against the flow of the crowd. Bonnie replies just as I get within arms distance of them. "Don't do this, please don't do this."

Jonas looks towards the bar and all the bottles of liquor break causing the liquid to spill out. "Don't!" I shout and he looks down at me in contempt. "We can help get your daughter back, we can work together if you stop this before you do something else."

Dr. Martin ignores me completely and sets fire to the bar. Bonnie tries to stop him from leaving but he turns around, places a hand on her forehead and she crumbles in unconsciousness. I barely catch her before her head slams into the hard wood flooring.

The crowd is screaming and running around frantically but Matt is calm as he grabs a jacket that someone left behind and tries to smoother the flames. He sees me and Bonnie on the floor and comes rushing over to us, "Is she okay?"

I nod, "Just get her out of here Matt, okay? I want you to get her out of here."

He nods and picks her up and carries her out to the back entrance. "And don't come back in here!" I shout after him and he stops and turns to me.

"But what about you?" He asks.

I wave him on, "I'll be fine."

I stand and scan the crowd for anyone else I can tell to get out. Alaric and Jenna are already gone, anyone that is left are trying desperately to get out. Elena, I mean Katherine, and Stefan are just feet from Jonas. Katherine yells over the other noise for Jonas to hear her and I don't know what is said but Jonas lights something else on fire.

Caroline comes from out of nowhere and jumps on Dr. Martin's back, sending him falling to the ground. Stefan pulls Katherine back towards the entrance and Caroline tries to bite Jonas' neck but he gives her an aneurism and she falls over in pain.

"Caroline!" I shout and run towards her but Dr. Martin steps in front of me. He shakes his head slowly and tries to back me up by stepping forwards. I pretend to stumble backwards and balance myself on the table while I really grab a large piece of glass and ready it in my right hand.

Dr. Martin takes another step towards me and now he is close enough for me to easily get a shot at his neck. I take the opening and lunge towards his neck, the shard of glass ready to stab into his neck. The glass barely pierces his skin before I am thrown back and away from him. My head hits one of the beams nearby and I hear a sickening crack before my body falls hard to the ground, my arms and legs getting cut up by glass on the floor.

"Bella!" Caroline shouts in between cries of pain. My eyes barely stay open and I fight off wave after wave of dizziness. I manage to keep my eyes open but I can tell that I won't last very long. Thankfully Caroline makes her way towards me now pain free, I guess Jonas has already left the building,

"You'll be okay Bella," She says and takes quick breathes, trying not breath in the smell of my blood. "Come on Caroline," she mutters to herself then bits into her wrist and shoves it against my lips. I weakly struggle before giving in and only have a few small sips before pulling away.

"Don't tell Damon," I beg her and add when she looks conflicted, "please."

She nods, "But only because you are safe now."

"Okay, now let's go before something else happens." I say and slowly stand up.

My head spins and my vision darkens for a moment before it clears up. I walk with Caroline out of the Grill and start to walk towards my car. Caroline grabs my elbow though and pulls me with her to her car.

"What are you doing Caroline? I can drive myself home." I protest.

Caroline shakes her head, "Bella, you were just seriously injured and I don't want you to have an accident on the road. Now give me your keys."

I try to stare her down but Caroline pulls out her best stare and soon I hand over my keys. "I'll drive your car home later, for now I'm taking you home."

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**AN: Remember to review and I'll give you a sneek peak of the next chapter!**


	15. Kill Your Heroes

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Thanks to anyone who favorited/alerted me or my story recently!**

**Damon won't find out about Bella being hurt in the last chapter since only Caroline saw it and Caroline knows Bella is fine so she doesn't need to ask. **

**This chapter ****really is a filler chapter so the next chapter will be updated really quick.**

**Enjoy!**

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Ch.13 – Kill Your Heroes

Well, the sun one day will  
Leave us all behind.  
Unexplainable sightings  
In the sky.  
Well, I hate to be  
The one to ruin the night.  
Right before your, right before your eyes.  
**Kill Your Heroes - Awolnation**

Caroline had dropped me off at home with strict instructions to be safe and not to try any dangerous stunts. I laughed with her and thanked her again for helping me out but then her phone went off and she answered it. Apparently Dr. Martin tried to kill Elena in her own house but since Katherine was still pretending to be Elena, she almost killed him. When he woke up he gave Bonnie back her powers and then Stefan snapped his neck which surely killed him.

After Caroline told me about the phone call she told me that she was going to go and see Matt and left. I turn on the TV and change the channel to watch the _Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. _The guest star just walks on stage when someone knocks at my door. Frowning, I get up and slowly head to my door. Why would anyone be at my house this late?

Cautiously I open my door and peak out, not knowing who to expect. To my surprise, Damon is on the other side. "Damon?" I ask, opening the door farther, letting light from the house shine on him. Damon has a bottle of Bourbon in his hand and he sways precariously before leaning against the doorway.

"Hey, Bella." Damon slurs, his blue eyes glazed and unfocused.

"Hi," I say back and Damon stumbles into the house. His arm brushes across my body sending sparks of electricity shooting through my body, igniting all my nerve endings. I take a sharp gasp in and hold it, hoping that Damon didn't notice the reaction my body has to just his presence and touch.

Damon sits down on the couch and takes another swig from the bottle, wincing at the burn in his throat. I sit down on the coffee table in from of the couch and try to take the bottle away from him. I completely miss though and almost fall onto Damon in the process.

"What are you doing here Damon?" I ask as I straighten in my spot.

Damon ignores my question and asks curiously, "Do you know how hard it is to keep you alive and safe? I mean you keep getting into trouble and someone has to save you since you can't save yourself. Sure, you mean to help at first but it never turns out that way and you get yourself in danger."

At sharp pain flares in the center of my chest and I gasp in shock, not sure if it's from the pain or the shock. Why is Damon saying this now? Is he angry because of the fact that he has to save me from other dangers or that I keep getting in danger? His words bring tears to my eyes which I desperately try to stop from falling.

I bite my lip and soon the tears and shock turn to anger. I push the hurt and his words aside to deal with another day. My words escape before I can stop them, "Well if I'm so hard to keep safe, stop saving me. Everyone wouldn't have to worry about the weak human if she's _dead._"

Damon looks at me seriously, his blue eyes seeing right through me and to my soul. "I can't do that Bella," Damon says, his expression one that I can't place.

"Why not?" I ask angrily, expecting an answer but not receiving one.

Damon takes another chug from his bottle and this time I manage to successfully swipe the bottle from his grasp. I put it on the floor behind me so that Damon won't be able to reach it as easily without moving from his spot.

"Damon, you're drunk and had a long day, why don't you go home and get some sleep?" I ask tiredly when I see him barely hold back a yawn. It seems we have both had a long day and I don't have the energy to keep fighting.

Damon shakes his head and instead kicks off his shoes before stretching himself out on my couch. "Damon," I say slowly and shake my head at him, "I meant go to sleep at your house."

Damon closes his eyes and raising a finger to press against my lips, effectively silencing me. "Shh, Bella, I'm sleeping."

I roll my eyes and grab a blanket from the hallway closet. I lay it over Damon's sleeping form and can't resist brushing back some of the raven black hair that had fallen into his eyes. "I'd like to know why you said what you did but I know I'm not getting that answer tonight. I don't know why you didn't just go home, it would be more comfortable than my couch." I sigh before standing up and turning off the TV, "Good night Damon."

As I leave the room, I swear that I hear something that sounds like, "But you're not there." When I turn around to look at Damon though, he hasn't moved an inch.

I trudge upstairs and slowly get ready for bed, all the while thinking about why Damon would say what he did. Did he know that it would hurt me? Is that the reason why he did it? Maybe he's thinking to push everyone away from him again and this is his way of doing it. I don't know his reason and I have a feeling he won't want to talk about it tomorrow either.

As I climb into bed, I submit myself to the fact that I won't know the reasons behind Damon's words. Maybe someday, I'll ask him about them and maybe, he'll tell me.

* * *

An annoying buzzing sound wakes me from a deep sleep and I sleepily reach a hand out to the other home phone which is on my bedside table.

"Yes?" I ask groggily and rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Bella, did I wake you up?" I make a noise that vaguely sounds like a yes to my ears as I stumble down the stairs, into the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot.

"Well, I'm sorry but I thought you'd like to know that Isobel showed up at my house last night while Jenna was home and implied that it was nice seeing me again. Jenna freaked out about me knowing about my supposedly dead birth mother and locked herself in her room."

Any remains of sleep is knocked out of me at that. "I'll be right over," I promise and hang up. I head back upstairs and change into some clean clothes and pull my hair back into a sloppy bun as I rush back downstairs. I look at the couch and see the blanket that I used to cover Damon folded and placed on one cushion. It seems that Damon must've taken off in the middle of the night or early this morning before I woke up. Sighing, I turn the coffee pot back off and get into my car that someone must have dropped off sometime last night for me.

I pull up to Elena's house in my car just as another car starts coming down the street in my direction. Keeping an eye on it, I quickly get out of the car and jog up to Elena's front door. After knocking on their thick door, I glance over my shoulder to see that it is Alaric's car that was driving down the street. He parks, turns off the car and gets out, just barely remembering to lock his doors with his key fob.

"Hey, did Elena call you?" I ask him as he walks towards me.

"Yeah, you?" He asks and I nod.

He sighs heavily and reaches one hand up to rub at his face. His tired eyes meet mine and I can see the battle in them. On one hand Alaric must be glad that Jenna is okay and not harmed but on the other, he hates that Jenna now knows that he has lied to her time and time again.

"It'll be okay Ric," I reach out a hand and lay it on his shoulder. "Everything will get better soon and Jenna will forgive you."

"But how can she? I've lied to her about almost everything in my life, how will she ever trust me again?" He asks and rakes his hands through his hair.

I give him a small sad smile, "You can either tell her the entire truth or half the truth but eventually the whole truth will come out Ric. Its life and it sucks at times. She'll know about all of this sometime, and it will probably be in the next few days with all the shit happening around here."

He nods absentmindedly, "Yeah, yeah." He pauses and turns to me with wide eyes, "How are you holding up? Your mother just showed up."

I glare at the ground and bit out, "She is not my mother, and she did not raise me in anyway. Charlie and Renee are my parents all Isobel is, is someone who loves to create chaos and I have enough of that in my life already."

Just then the door opens and Elena's worried face is on the other side.

"Hey is she up yet?" Alaric asks as he steps into the house and I follow after him, closing the door quietly behind me.

"She won't come out of her room," Elena tells us, glancing anxiously upstairs.

"What'd you tell her?" I ask her and shrug my arms out of my jacket and toss it over the back of the couch.

"Nothing, she won't talk to me," Elena crosses her arms and her voice cracks. Jenna not talking to her has hit her really hard; I can't imagine feeling that at all. Well, maybe I would if Caroline, Elena, Damon or Charlie ever got so mad at me that they wouldn't talk to me.

"We're going to have to fix this Elena." Ric points out the obvious and can't help but let out a little giggle that is stopped as soon as it escapes.

"No duh Ric." At that moment Jenna starts down the stairs with a duffle bag in hand.

"Jenna," Ric starts, his voice pleading but Jenna is obviously focused on getting out of the house.

"I don't want to talk to you Ric, I need to go." Jena walks around the landing, grabbing things that she will need for a couple nights.

"Jenna, I can't begin to image what you must be feeling right now." I say quietly, trying to get her to talk to us.

Jenna looks at all of us, her eyes still red from crying and water trails on her cheeks. "Rage and betrayal pretty much covers it I think."

"Where are you going?" Elena asks.

Jenna puts her coat on and pulls her hair out from under the collar. "I'm going to stay on campus. I need to finish my thesis and I don't want to stay in this house."

"Please, just stop and let us explain this to you." Alaric tries to explain but Jenna ignores him.

"Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwood's house to accept the check from the Historical Society for your mom's foundation."

Elena nods and tries again, "Jenna, please listen to us."

Jenna turns around with watery eyes and says, "I don't think I have it in me to hear any more lies from any of you."

"Jenna, listen to Ric, please." I tell her but it doesn't have any effect and she leaves the house."Does Jenna know that we're sisters yet?" I ask Elena and she shakes her head.

"It never seemed like a good time," she pauses at the look of disappointment on my face and adds, "but I will when she comes back."

"Let it go, it's better that she's not here what with everything that is going on." John says as he walks towards the three of us from the kitchen.

I take a few steps forward until I am toe to toe with him, "You told Isobel to come here didn't you."

John shakes his head, "No, I didn't," I step to the side quickly. I have a feeling that whatever john says next will piss Alaric off even more, "but maybe had you been a little more honest with her from the beginning."

Alaric takes one step and punches John in the face hard enough to start his nose bleeding a little bit. Elena gasps in shock and Alaric leaves with a quite, "I'm sorry."

"You know this is your fault, right?" Elena points out to John and I go to stand next to her. I won't let her take on John on her own.

"Right." John mutters and looks at the ground. Elena heads upstairs after that and I follow but not before making sure that John gets a good glare from me. He does deserve it.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading now if you'd be so kind to leave a review and I'll send you a sneak peak of the next chapter as soon as possible.**


	16. Know Thy Enemy

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added me or my story to your favorites or alerts. It still shocks me how much people like what I write. **

**I know I didn't get to everyone who reviewed with a preview of this chapter and I'm not going to give any excuses but i will explain. my basketball team went to Regionals this weekend and it was a six hour drive away. When we got there I didn't have my laptop to be able to email you all the sneak peaks and didn't get back until late last night. Instead i am updating this chapter today and will give the next chapter earlier too.**

**Enjoy!**

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Ch.14 – Know Thy Enemy

Elena's bedroom door opens and Stefan walks through just as he ends his phone call.

"What's wrong?" I ask, seeing and recognizing his furrowed eyebrows and tense jaw as signs of stress.

He sighs loudly Elena stands and crosses over to give him a tight hug. "Is it Caroline?" Elena guesses.

He nods and Elena and Stefan pull apart. Elena comes back to sit beside me on the windowsill and Stefan sits on the edge of the bed.

"This is really bad. Especially between Jenna, John, Isobel and now add in Caroline and Matt. We have a recipe for a TV show drama except this is real life. Great." My voice drips in sarcasm. I stand up from my spot and stand pacing back and forth, my mind trying to find a way to fix everything the simplest way it can. Nothing comes to mind right away other than telling Matt and Jenna the truth, kicking john out and killing Isobel. But for obvious reasons we can't do that.

A set of footsteps echo up the stairs but I don't stop my pacing, not even when John sticks his stupid head into the doorway and asks, "Elena, Bella, could you come downstairs for a minute, I need to talk to you."

I snort and mumble, "Like that's gonna happen."

"We have nothing to say to you," Elena spits out and Stefan gives john his best disappointed and angry stare. It is quite the mash up and it doesn't work on everyone but it does on Stefan, especially with his superhero hair-do.

"Please, it's important. You too Stefan." John says and heads downstairs with us reluctantly behind him.

Elena turns the corner to go into the kitchen and stops so suddenly that I crash into her back. "Sorry Elena."

"It's fine," she says distractedly and I look up to see what she is looking at. There not even five feet away is Isobel and she is not at all how I pictured her. I have never seen my birth mother before but I always thought that she'd have a soft face, caring eyes and wide smile but Isobel has none of that. Her eyes are hard and her face seems to be sagging even though she is an unaging immortal.

"I asked John for a do-over," She explains.

"You invited her in?" Elena and I ask furiously. John puts his hands in his jacket pockets in a causal way and I stalk towards him.

"I should hit you just like Alaric did because you are so stupid." Stefan grabs the back of my jacket before I can go pummel John and he pulls me back next to Elena. I give John one more furious glare and he starts speaking.

"She has information about Klaus. Please just listen to her okay?"

Elena turns to Stefan for advice and as a united force they turn to face Isobel with me standing slightly behind them. "Alright, what do you know?"

"Since I was last hear I have been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you Elena."

"Best chance of what?" Stefan asks as everyone heads into the kitchen and I restart my pacing in front of the sink.

"Keeping Elena safe." John says from his spot of sitting on the kitchen table.

Elena turns towards him, "You don't get to talk, not after everything you've done."

She turns and walks towards the kitchen island as Stefan stares Isobel down, "Were you able to find Klaus?"

"No," Isobel shakes her head, "nobody knows where he is but there are rumours that a doppelganger exists."

"Which means that any vampire who wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you," John puts in and stares at Elena.

"I'm not buying either of this," Elena puts in after sharing a look with me and Stefan.

"Me either," I add in and stare Isobel down, her and John's caring will not get to me. "Just letting you know.

"The last time you were here you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about me and know I'm supposed to believe that all of a sudden you want to help me and Bella?" Elena laughs incredulously.

Isobel stands up, "I have a safe house that I can take both of you too because Bella, let's just face it you look pretty similar to Elena and any vampire who doesn't know about your existence can easily mix you and Elena up. Then they'd take you to Klaus where he may kill you for looking like Elena.

"The deed is in both of your names so that no vampires can get in, not even me." That raises my eyebrows a little but I've learned from the stories that the gang told me a few days ago to never trust Isobel or John and never both of them together. "Let me help you."

Elena takes a step closer to Isobel and snarls, "You want to help, get the hell out of my house."

John looks disappointed but doesn't say anything so I speak up. "Well, as fun as this has been I'm going to go and get ready for the thing at the Lockwood house. See you later Elena, Stefan. Oh, I got a new cell phone, so if you need me before then call me."

With that I leave the kitchen without a backward glance at Isobel and John.

The Lockwood lunch is pretty packed when I arrive. There are rows of white chairs placed out that are already half filled with people. It seems that I arrived a tad bit late but that isn't my fault really, I was already here once but Carol Lockwood practically begged me to go down to the store and pick up some napkins. I reluctantly went and got her napkins from the store but now I'm later than I wanted to be.

I look around and stand up on my tiptoes to try to get a look over everyone's head to find Carol. I have her napkins in my hand and I feel quite stupid just holding them.

"Why are you holding napkins?" Damon asks from behind me and I turn to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"Didn't you get the memo Damon? I got a job as official napkin holder." I roll my eyes and go back to looking for Carol. I think that I see a bit of her jacket for a second but it is just someone wearing a similar jacket.

Damon and I don't mention last night, it's almost like he never came over or said anything. If he won't bring it up then I will let it go, I won't push him to talk to me.s

"Good for you, I always knew you would achieve great things."

"Have you seen Matt around?" I ask as I start to wander into the crowd.

"No," he answers, "Barbie is looking for him right now and is freaking out like always. She left just a couple minutes ago to search the rest of the town."

I nod and finally find Carol Lockwood but she is at the front of the room behind a podium. It seems that she is getting ready to give out the award. There is a table beside me that is only holding a vase of flowers and I place the stack of napkins on it, deciding that Carol can be mad at me but I'm not really going to care.

"Bella," Damon starts and grabs a hold of my arm before I can take a step to find an open chair. I turn to look at him and his shocking blue eyes don't break contact with mine. "Are you hiding something?"

"No," I say a bit too quickly and Damon raises an eyebrow incredulously. I sigh and continue, "Yes, Isobel and John showed up at Elena's house this morning and tried to convince us to trust them."

"Do you?" Damon asks.

"No!" I practically shout then tone down my voice and change the subject. "Damon, you didn't need to get me a new phone." I start to protest. I could have bought a new phone and would have too but I haven't had the time to stop and relax for five minutes. "But thank you, I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome, now I have to show Bonnie to the place we were talking about before." Damon looks at me intently and I nod in understanding.

It seems that Damon has found the witch burial site which, to be truthful, I never thought that they would find the old witch massacre site at all. "You found it, really?"

Damon places a hand over his heart as takes a steps backwards to the door, "Your words wound me Bella, I didn't know that you lacked faith in me."

I take a step to hit him on the arm but he jumps back. I stop and ask, "Where's Alaric? I haven't seen him yet. Is he going with you and Bonnie?"

Damon shakes his head as he walks backwards towards the door, "Haven't seen him and now I really must be going." He turns towards the door and walks quickly out of it.

I roll my eyes and walk towards the left side of the room where there are some little crackers for the guests. I grab one and start eating it when John walks up to me. I groan inwardly but stay in place and wait for him to get closer to me. If I don't talk to him now he'll just what to talk to me later.

"Yes, John? What do you want?" I ask suspiciously.

He gives me a hesitant smile and stands beside me as the rest of the guests find their spots in the chairs. "I just wanted to watch Elena except the cheque for Miranda's foundation and I thought that I might as well do it while standing next to my other daughter."

"I am not your daughter," I hiss out under my breath while I clap and smile widely as Carol Lockwood begins her speech.

He shakes his head with a half smile on his face, "You will always be my daughter Bella because we have the same blood. Both you and Elena are my daughters and I will do anything to protect you."

I turn to look into John's eyes and try to make him see that I am very serious. "I may be your daughter biologically John but that is where similarities end and you need to understand that. Charlie is the man who raised me and taught me about right and wrong, you didn't so in my books he is my father. You are just a jerk who likes to control things and only pretends to care for people when it is useful for you."

John's face steadily dropped as I say my speech but I don't stop talking till I finish. If I didn't get these things off of my chest I would have regretted not doing it. John doesn't say anything in response and walks away, silently slipping through the crowd. I follow him for a little bit with my eyes until he disappears upstairs and out of sight.

Carol finishes her little part and the crowd claps again as Elena walks to the front of the room to except the donation. She looks very beautiful in her purple wrap-around dress; the shade is perfect against her skin and hair color. "The historical society was my mom's baby," Elena begins and looks at each guest individually. "She considered each of you family and would've been honored and touched by this gift."

A loud crashing sound draws my attention away from Elena. John tumbles down the stairs and lands hard against the solid marble ground. Stefan jogs towards him as he was the first one to hear John's fall and I'm soon after him. Stefan kneels on the ground next to John's head and tilts his chin to look at the far side of his neck. I kneel down next to Stefan and whisper when I see the bite marks, "Is he still alive?"

I pray that he is still alive as guilt washes over me. The only reason why John was upstairs is because I hurt his feelings and he left. If I hadn't been so rude to him than he would've stayed and watched Elena accept the money and wouldn't have gotten hurt. It will be my fault if he's dead and I don't know how I'll cope with that. My eyes leave the bite marks and travel down his body and land on his hand where a huge, clunky ring sits. I let out a sigh of relief, now even if John's dead, he will come back.

Stefan shakes his head a tad in answer before the rest of the crowd descends upon us. Stefan turns to Sheriff Forbes and says, "He's, uh, bleeding. Is he okay?"

Sheriff Forbes gets down on her knees beside John as Stefan stands up and looks around the room for the person who bit John. Sheriff Forbes says, "Yeah, I got it."

Stefan grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet and pushes through the crowd and into the room where Elena was giving her speech. "Elena? Elena?" Stefan asks and looks frantically around for her. We both spot her at the same time. "Are you okay?" Stefan asks.

She nods with one hand holding her cell phone to her ear. "I'm calling Damon," she explains but something seems off. I can't exactly put a finger on it but something feels off about this entire situation.

Stefan walks towards Elena and pulls her close, "Let's get out of here." He says to both of us and leads us to the parking lot. Elena continues to talk on the phone with Damon as Stefan leads us towards our cars. Luckily when I came back from getting the napkins for Carol Lockwood I decided to park behind Stefan's car.

"Tell him he needs to get over here and deal with John's body," Stefan tells Elena as I follow after them.

Elena tells Damon that quickly as she buttons her jacket with her free hand, "You got some serious explaining to do to the council about John being not-so-dead," and hangs up.

I walk past Stefan's car and head to mine; I just have the door open when a bang catches my attention. I turn back to Elena and Stefan and see that Stefan has pushed Elena roughly against the back of the car and I gasp loudly. "Stefan, what are you doing?"

"Where the hell is she, huh?" Stefan asks Elena roughly as Elena struggles against him. Stefan groans in pain and I walk towards him and see Elena pull a needle back.

She looks sadly at him, "I'm sorry, Stef, but I can't have you following me." Stefan's face crumbles in pain and he groans again, I'm betting that the needle was filled with vervain. Suddenly Katherine, who is pretending to be Elena, shoves Stefan into the nearby trees with a strength that only a five century year old vampire can have.

Katherine turns to me, smirks and says, "Can't have you running off and squealing to Damon just yet, can I?"

Eyes wide, I take some quick steps away from her. If only I had a stake with me, then I'd get back at her for feeding off of me. I turn and start to run away but Katherine grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me back towards her. Her breath is hot on my ear, I struggle to get away only for Katherine to tighten her grip more. "You smelled so good the other night Bella, I bet you would've been a delightful snack."

"Let me go," I snarl to no avail. Katherine coos in my ear before hitting my head hard against the side of Stefan's car. My vision becomes spotty and dark. I try to focus and push through the pain and disorientation but another hard hit in the back of my head causes me to succumb to the quiet darkness.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading my story and remember the next chapter will be up soon so no sneak peaks this time. Remeber to review!**


	17. Wake Up

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! And look, I'm on time for once and didn't break my promise! Haha.**

**Disclaimer (since I've forgotten before) - I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.15 – Wake Up

_We are alive for a moment  
One second in the great abyss of time  
All the bleedin', all the hate  
Just one blink of an eye  
All the conflicts, it visits dire pain on human life  
Are we missing what it is to be alive?  
__**Wake Up – Story of the Year**_

"_Bella? Bella, come on you have got to wake up. Damon will be so pissed at me if you're hurt." _The words are muffled and out of focus but I do recognize the voice, Stefan.

"What?" I mumble with my eyes closed as I try to sit up but a wave of dizziness washes over me and I slump back down.

"Easy," Stefan says near my ear. "You're going to have a big goose egg on your head but you'll be fine."

My eyes pop open and I struggle to sit up but Stefan puts a hand on my shoulder and keeps me down. "Katherine took Elena." I say frantically. "We have to find her."

"I know but first I have to call Damon." Stefan says and lets me sit up slowly. I take in my surroundings for the first time since I woke up and I'm in the passenger seat of my car and Stefan is in the driver's seat.

Stefan quickly takes out his phone and dials Damon's number. When Damon answers Stefan quickly explains that Elena was taken by Katherine after using John as a distraction. "Damon? Damon?" Stefan asks repeatedly, pulls the phone away from his ear and looks at the screen and puts his phone back to his ear. "Damon? Dammit." Stefan finishes and ends the call.

"What do we do next?" I ask as Stefan starts my car and pulls away from the Lockwood house.

Stefan steps on the gas, turns to me and says, "Find Isobel's house, and get Elena."

LINEBREAK

"So how do you know that this is Isobel's house?" I ask Damon and unbuckled my seat belt and climb out of the back seat, trying not to stumble too much.

"It's Isobel's style, the nicest for closure in town." He mumbles, no joking going on what's so ever. Damon stops me for a moment and says, "Bella, I swear I'll get Katherine back for hurting you again. Once was bad enough but twice is stupidity on my part."

I shake my head, "I'm alright Damon, no harm done. But the next time I see her, I call dibs on staking her." Damon nods and we continue up the walk way.

Stefan looks back at us as he steps up to the door, "Swear to God if she's not here?"

"Don't be such a pessimist." Damon tells him, annoyed at Stefan's worrying since he has done that the entire drive over.

"We'll find her Stefan, don't worry." I call out as he opens the door and steps in.

"I got upstairs," Stefan calls as he rushes up the stairs. Damon peaks into the two rooms on either side of the entryway which are empty but there are bags set by the door. As if someone knows they will be rushing out of the house.

Stefan comes back down just as Damon says, "Well this is Isobel's stuff, we've got the right place."

"Where is my sister?" I ask exasperated.

"I don't know people, I'm not a physic. Let's get back in the car." I flinch slightly at that and Damon glances over at me and sends me a sorry look. I shrug and head back out to the car and get into the back and pull Stefan's seat back into its right position.

Damon starts the car and pulls away from the curb when my phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket. I don't recognize the number but answer it anyway, "Hello?"

"Bella? Thank God you answered." Elena's voice cracks over the phone line.

"Elena, where are you? Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? I swear that if Katherine or Isobel hurt you I'll shove a stake in their hearts."

"Too late for that, Isobel's dead and I haven't seen Katherine since the Lockwood house." Elena sniffs and I can tell that she's holding back tears.

"Oh," I mumble and Stefan grabs my phone from me.

"Elena, where are you?" He asks and is silent while Elena tells him where she is. He nods, "Okay, we'll see you in a bit." He hands me back my phone and I end the call as Stefan tells Damon where Elena is. "She's at the Grove Hill Cemetery near the Flemming grave sites."

"How did Elena call me on my new phone if I just got it yesterday?" I ask Damon and he answers without looking away from the road.

"Same number as your old phone."

"Oh," I say with wide eyes, now I feel kinda like an idiot. It only takes less than five minutes to get to the cemetery and find Elena. When we do, we find her with tear tracks staring silently at a pile of dust. "Elena?"

She looks up at me and when her eyes land on Stefan behind me she launches herself into his arms. Stefan rocks her back and forth and motions for me to get into the car first. When I'm settled into the back of the car, Elena follows after. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head, "No." Then she lays her head on my shoulder and I reach one arm around her shoulder to rub her arm soothingly. This is the most physical comfort I've given Elena. Any other times she needed comfort I was in Forks and just had to give her advice. I have to admit that I was scared that I may do this wrong but it's instinctual to just be there for her during this time. The fact that I have lost my bio mother hasn't even registered because Elena is my priority, and not my feelings on losing Isobel. Sure, I'm saddened about her lost but it is only like when a new acquaintance dies.

As we are driving back to Damon's house Elena whispers, "She wanted to know us when she was human."

My eyes widen in shock and I catch Damon's eyes in the rear view mirror. Is that even possible? Isobel wanted to know us?

* * *

Elena and I are sitting on the couch as Stefan goes to get us some coffee. Elena pulls a necklace out of her pocket and studies it. "What is that?" I ask in curiosity.

"Isobel's necklace," she explains. "You know, I never thought I'd feel bad about her being dead."

Stefan comes into the room and gives us both our coffees. "You and me both," I say into my coffee before taking a sip.

Stefan shrugs, "She was your mother, you're going to have some feelings for her."

Elena and I both sigh in acknowledgement. I take another sip of coffee before leaning back into the couch and throwing an arm over my eyes. A thought occurs to me and I sit up abruptly, my arm dropping from over my eyes. "Why would they let you go? What reason did they have? They already have a witch for the ritual and the moonstone and probably all the other ingredients so why not lock you up somewhere?"

Stefan gives me a look and I raise my hands in surrender. "I don't know," he says. "We have to assume that Klaus knows everything that John told Isobel. So he knows you're not going to turn yourself into a vampire, he knows that you have us keeping you safe."

"He also knows that you aren't going to run," I point out as Damon enters the living room with a big pile of papers in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Which is why we need to take some precautions. Cause we got played, all of us." He places the pile in Elena's lap and then the pen.

"What's that?" I ask.

Elena looks closely at the papers and says slowly, "A deed to their house." She looks up when she realizes what going on, "You're giving me your house."

The brothers nod and Stefan goes on to explain. "It's in Zach's name but as soon as you sign it, it's yours. Isobel had the right idea about a safe house. Just stay here until it's all over, that way you can control who gets invited in and who doesn't."

I slowly nod my head in agreement; it makes sense and is the best way to protect Elena under the circumstances.

"But I'll be super pissed if you lock me out." Damon says.

"Aw," I wine, "but it would be so funny. What if we cut up all your leather jackets while you were stuck outside, that would be something to see." I laugh and Elena joins in as Damon glares at me.

"Just remember, I know where you live." Damon says in a sing-song whisper. Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the combination of his voice and the look in his eyes but I force it down and ignore it.

A gasp from across the room pulls my attention away from Damon and the feelings inside me. John blots into a sitting position and Damon blurs over to him, grabs him by the collar and lifts his feet off the ground. I lean back in the couch, cross my ankles over each other and say, "Well, look whose back from the dead."

John starts to apologize to Elena and I can see the sincerity in his eyes, he really means it. Elena speaks up, "Damon let him go, Bella and I need to talk to him."

* * *

"I knew Isobel and Katherine were close but I never realized that they were working against me. Two of the world's most uncaring and selfish vampires and yet they were genuinely friends." John explains from the couch across from Elena and I.

"If that was what you thought of her then why did you ever put your trust in her at all?" Elena asks pointedly.

John looks back and forth between us, "Because I was there when she gave birth to both of you. I saw how heartbroken she was to give you both away and because she was the first girl I ever loved."

Did John have to pull the first love card? Of course he did because now I'm giving in slightly to his explanation. I know that if Edward hadn't left like he did and instead we just had a regular break up. And if he came back years later asking for my help and trust, I'd give it to him. I know that Elena would do the same thing with Matt too.

"And when she said that she would help keep you safe, I believed her. That's why I will do whatever you want me to do. If you both feel safer with me not around, then I'll go." John's eyes take on a tortured look, as if the mere thought of leaving us hurts him. I know I shouldn't believe it but I am starting to believe that he genuinely cares for us.

I look to Elena for her answer, already knowing mine but she just stares ahead in silence. Just as I go to say my answer John gets up from the couch and heads for the door. "You screw up everything John, everything you touch just falls apart. But you're the only parent I have left, so maybe I can learn not to hate you." Elena explains.

John nods, "Okay," and continues his way to the door.

I hurry after him and grab a hold of his elbow, stopping him in the hallway. "John, I know I don't know you that well but from what I've seen the last couple of days is someone that I'm proud to know. You really do care for us and put Elena's safety above all us, it's nice to see that. Maybe someday soon I'll be proud to call dad."

John's eyes light up at that and he smiles down at me as I continue, "I can't fault you for trusting Isobel because I would do the exact same thing in your situation. I know you care for Elena and me, but sometimes we need caring advice and support instead of tough love, you know?"

John nods in understanding, "Yeah, I understand." He pulls me into a hug and my arms stay stiffly at my sides for a few seconds in shock before they wrap around him. "Thank you Bella, for understanding and giving me another chance."

I pull away after a few more seconds. Even though the hug was nice and it gave me a sense of comfort and protection, it was a little awkward. "I'll see you later John," I say and am about to go back to Elena when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I pull it out and walk down the hallway in the opposite direction towards the kitchen. "Hello?" I ask.

"Bella, I'm so glad you answered." Caroline's rushes out and then I hear a sob.

"Caroline? What happened? Are you okay?" I ask quickly.

She sobs again and I hear her try to compose herself. "Matt," she says more clearly. "He came over to my house and demanded to be told everything, so I did." I can picture her shrugging and another sob escapes her. "I thought that he would accept me and we would be fine."

"What'd he say?" I ask hesitantly.

"He told me to compel him to forget, he said that he didn't want to look at me and see what he was seeing. I mean, what type of BS thing is that. Right?" She asks, still sobbing every once in a while.

I rub a hand on the back of my neck. I have never been that good at comforting people, I get that from Charlie. "Caroline that is so sad but now he doesn't remember anything from tonight. So he shouldn't treat you any different than he did before finding out about you being a vampire."

"Yeah," Caroline says in a clear voice "That makes sense, so I'll just pretend that nothing's changed."

"Yeah," I sigh in relief and drop my hand from my neck. I really need to get better at giving advice and comforting people. "Were you going to ask him to the 60s dance?"

"Yeah," she says slowly, clearly not following my thought direction.

"Then ask him just like it's a normal dance. Pretend Caroline, you're the best actress I know."

"Yup, I'll do that tomorrow at school. Thanks Bella, you're a great friend." Caroline says as she hangs up.

I put my phone back in my pocket and head back into the living room where Damon and Stefan are talking with Elena. "I'm taking off guys, but I'll see you all tomorrow. Elena, we're still getting ready for the dance right?"

"Yup," Elena says and I leave the boarding house and drive home. As soon as I walk through the front door a wave of exhaustion hits me and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading now be nice and leave me a review! Every review will get a preview to the next chapter.


	18. The Catalyst

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch. 16 – The Catalyst

God bless us everyone,  
We're a broken people living under loaded gun.  
And it can't be outfought,  
It can't be outdone,  
It can't be outmatched,  
It can't be outrun.  
**The Catalyst – Linkin Park**

The next morning I end up sleeping through my alarm clock and wake up with only fifteen minutes to get ready and get to school before the late bell rings. Luckily, I get there in fourteen minutes but not without some injuries, I stubbed my toe a couple of times and banged my hand against the wall while running out the door.

I hurry towards my history class and just slip in when the bell rings and grab my seat in the back. Alaric walks in a few seconds after I sit down.

"Hello class, what are we learning today?" He asks distractedly as he looks through some of his books on his desk.

I can't help but raise an eyebrow at that. We've been covering everything that has happened in the sixties for a week to get ready for the sixties dance. There is no way that he could've forgotten that. Or maybe he's just asking us to make sure we've been paying attention. That could be too.

Someone from the front of the room, I'm not sure who, explains to him what we've been covering. It is a miracle that I've remember ten different people's names from outside my group of friends since I'm horrible at remembering names.

"Right the sixties," he muses and rights on the board. "Wish I could say something good about the sixties but actually they kinda sucked. Except for the Beatles they made it bearable. Uh… What else was there? The Cub Missile thing, the walk on the moon, Watergate."

"Watergate was in the seventies Ric," Elena blurts out by accident and he turns to look at her. Elena blinks before realizing her mistake and saying, "I mean Mr. Saltzman."

"Right it all kind of meshes together up here." He motions to his head and chuckles. "Sixties, seventies but thank you Elena."

Alaric looks around the class and then his eyes land on me. His eyes widen for a moment before quickly hiding his surprise. I furrow my brows but let it slide and start doodling on the side of my notebook until class ends. When the bell rings everyone rushes outside while I stay behind. I gather up my stuff and head towards the front of the room, "Hey Ric, you have time for some tutoring?"

"Huh?" He asks.

I look at him in confusion; he did say he would tutor me right? That was only a few days ago. "You said that you would tutor me in history since I suck at it. We agreed on it my first day here."

"Right, well I have a free period now if you would like." I nod and he gives a nervous chuckle. "Well, is there a certain time period you don't get or is it just history in general."

"No, I can remember what happened and who was in which war and what they did; I just can't really remember the dates. I've always hated numbers."

"Then I guess you hate math too?" He asks with a smile and I nod.

"Especially taxes, those were a bitch." My eyes widen at what I said, "Excuse my language."

"Taxes, but you're too young to be doing taxes." Ric states in confusion.

"Not when I was living with Renee," Ric still looks confused. I swear has he been in town at all these last couple of days? "Renee, my adopted mom?" The confusion clears from his face and he motions for me to continue, "Well, let's just say that she is a free spirit and God forbid if she would remember to do taxes or remember to pay the bills on time. So when I was ten I started balancing all of our money."

"That sucks, so you never knew about John or Isobel being your real parents until you moved here?" Alaric asks and I shake my head.

"That reminds me, thanks for punching out Ric the other day for calling Isobel into town. I would've done it but your punch probably hurt more than mine would have." Ric nods and gets back onto history. For the next half hour he helps me learn some tricks for remembering certain dates and times in history. The whole time though I keep getting a bad feeling in my gut. There is something different about Ric and I can't seem to put my finger on it. No matter how hard I try.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully until I'm at Damon's discussing Klaus showing up at the dance with Elena, Bonnie, Stefan and Damon.

"So we go to the dance and find him, how hard can it be?"Damon asks.

Stefan gives him a look, "Really? How are we gonna do that? We don't even know what he looks like."

"I have a feeling he won't be sixteen and pimply." Damon responds and I can't help but let out a giggle. He looks towards me and flashes his best smile.

"He can be anywhere at any time. He compelled someone at school." Stefan points out.

"This won't be as easy as I thought," I mutter and Stefan nods as a knock sounds at the door but it opens before anyone can answer it.

"Sorry I'm late," Ric says as he walks in.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight, Klaus made his first move." Damon tells him and Ric nods.

I keep a close eye on him, still not liking the feeling I get when he's around.

"So what's our plan of attack?" Elena asks and I see Bonnie looking at Alaric curiously. Hmm, maybe it's not just me who has that bad feeling.

"Me, I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel; if you can find him I can kill him." Bonnie says firmly and Ric gives her an incredulous look.

Alaric laughs, "It's not gonna be that easy, I mean he is the biggest, badest vampire around."

"Ric's got a point what if-" Damon cuts himself off and blurs at Bonnie but Bonnie reacts faster and shoves him across the room without blinking.

I nod in approval and smile, "I think she's made her point. We'll go to the dance, have fun and when Klaus shows up, kill him." I shrug, "Simple."

* * *

An hour later I'm at Elena's getting ready for the dance. She takes a piece of my hair and starts to braid it, concentrating deeply on her work. A few pulls later she looks up and catches my gaze in the mirror. "Elena, what's wrong. You're hiding something so just tell me."

She sighs and gets back to work only to mutter. "Klaus wants me to save the last dance tonight."

"What?" I shout and try to jump up from my seat only for Elena to push me back down. "How do you know this? Did you see him? Are you hurt?"

"Calm down Bella, no I didn't see him and no I'm not hurt. Klaus compelled Lacy to come over to me and tell me that he wants me to save him a dance."

I sigh and think, "Well that's creepy but are you?" Elena glares at me in answer and I raise my hands in surrender. A few moments later she finishes my braid. "Who's Lacy?" I can't help but ask.

Elena gently swats my arm and smiles at me. "God, you need to get better at remembering names. She's in your science class this term."

An image of Lacy with her wavy brown hair pops up in my head and I roll my eyes at myself, "Oh."

Elena claps hers hands and points to my outfit on the bed, "Now go get changed while I do my hair quickly."

I mock salute her and rush into the bathroom before she throws a pillow at me.

* * *

So far this dance is a dud; all anyone does is stand and talk or dance and talk. And since I can't dance, I'm stuck standing and talking to anyone who isn't dancing, which happen to be the popular people who think that they are so cool that they don't need to dance. I gotta say though, these people are way too boring.

Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Damon and Jeremy walk through the door and stop a few feet to my right as Lacy thanks the crowd from her spot on the stage.

"We have a special shout out tonight, this is for Elena from Klaus." The crowd clasps and my eyes widen and I look around quickly trying to find anyone who I don't know. That's useless though because I still don't know that many people here yet. I stumble through the crowd towards the gang just as Damon finishes speaking.

"I know everyone here." Elena says forcefully.

Stefan looks around the crowd, "Maybe he's not here, maybe he wants us to believe that he's here."

"It's a party people, blend. Let him come to us." Damon says and I nod in agreement. "There's Ric, I'm gonna go talk to him."

As Damon goes to walk over to Alaric I spot Caroline walking into the gym with Matt beside her. I slowly get to them and pull Caroline away for a moment.

Caroline gives me an amused look, "Bella, I don't like you that way. I don't want to slow dance with you."

I roll my eyes, "Shut up. How is it going with Matt?"

"Good, good, just fine." She stops at my raised eyebrow and sighs. "Okay, it's not that good. I feel like he's hiding something from me and is more distant than he used to be."

"Well, hopefully he'll get over it soon and see just how wonderful of a girl you are."

"Thanks Bella, you're a good friend."

"Yeah and that's also why I pulled you away. Klaus maybe here, we don't know for sure but keep an eye out for anything weird." Caroline nods with wide eyes and goes back over to Matt. I survey the crowd and see Damon and Elena are dancing and whatever he said with a wild gesture of his hands made her laugh. My stomach clenches tightly for some reason but I ignore it, I can't be jealous. Elena doesn't even like Damon like that.

Ric is free from people talking to him and is just standing there so I walk over to him. He's probably as bored as I am or more since he has to be here. "Having fun chaperoning?" I ask teasingly.

He shrugs, "Nope but hopefully it will get more entertaining soon."

I laugh, "Ha, that's not possible, they never do."

He looks at me from the corner of his eye and a chill runs down my spine at his next words, "We'll see about that."

I nod slowly and then hightail it away from him. There is diffidently something wrong with Alaric but I don't know what.

Someone catches my elbow and spins me around into them. I try to pull away but can't so I raise my arm to sock them in the throat when they grab my wrist. I look up for the first time and am caught in Damon's gaze.

"That's not a nice way to treat a friend," he smirks at me and pulls me farther onto the dance floor.

"I thought you were Klaus, you ass." I hiss, "Don't do that to me."

"Relax; we're as safe as we can be with Sabrina the witch in the same room." He jerks his head towards Bonnie and spins me quickly.

I stumble over my feet and am about to fall but Damon catches me. He pulls me upright and holds me tightly with my back against his chest. "Damon, I can't dance."

I can practically hear his eyes roll in their sockets, "It's all in the leading. Besides you need to take a break from worrying. All your worries will still be here tomorrow so just take a break."

He spins me again and this time I somehow manage to gracefully end up in his arms. I nod, "Okay but just so you know, if I break something it's your fault."

He smiles down at me and my breath catches in my throat at his handsomeness. I pray that Damon doesn't notice how I react around him. My body feels like its electrified everywhere and just looking into his eyes puts me in a trance.

Elena comes up behind Damon and says to me, "I need to talk to you."

I nod and reluctantly pull out of Damon's hold just as Stefan starts to walk to us. Elena drags me over to Bonnie and grabs her and then drags us both outside of the dance.

"How could you not tell me?" Elena says angrily to Bonnie.

Bonnie pleads, "Because I knew how you'd react."

I look between them for some clue of what's going on but I'm still in the dark. "What's going on?"

Elena looks at me then looks accusingly at bonnie, "Bonnie can channel the dead witches' power but what she didn't tell us is that if she uses all of that power, she'll die."

My eyes widen and I look at Bonnie, "Tell me that isn't true."

She gives me a glare, still hating me. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're Elena's and Caroline's friend and if you died they wouldn't know what to do. So you're not going to die, got it?" I say fiercely and take a threatening step towards her.

She just glares at me and turns to Elena, "I have the power to save you, if I don't use it and something happens that would kill me more."

Elena turns back to the school and shakes her head, "I can't let you." She whispers.

Bonnie grabs a hold of Elena's arm and asks, "Just answer me one question, if the situation were reversed would you do it for me?"

I look towards the ground in guilt because I was going to plan to be used in the sacrifice instead of Elena which is basically what Bonnie would be doing. I know that no one would let me so I dropped it but that doesn't mean that I have forgotten that option. If it comes down to it, I will sacrifice myself for Elena. She doesn't deserve all this death and lose around her and if I can take some of it off her shoulders, I will. I don't say anything though because I'm not going to let anyone know of my plan.

Elena doesn't say anything in response and Bonnie smiles softly, "So you know why I have to."

Elena looks like she's going to give in for a moment but then doesn't, "No, no."

After a few moments of silence I say quietly, "Let's go back to the dance."

* * *

**AN: This is the first part of the 60's dance, the second part will be updated soon. Please remember to review and you'll get a sneak peak of the next chapter!**


	19. Viking Death March

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews the last chatper! I loved reading each one and responding to each one! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Now this is the chapter that a lot of people have been waiting for! I won't say any more though!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.17 – Viking Death March

_Light, let there be light  
Without a shadow of doubt  
We will fight tooth and nail  
Until salvation is found_

_So how can you look the world in the eyes_  
_When all we can see is corruption and lies_

_**Viking Death March – Billy Talent**_

But someone comes running towards us, I can't see their face since the light from the dance throws shadows over it until they are a few feet from us. Why is Alaric out here? Isn't he supposed to be watching the dance?

"He's got Jeremy," Alaric pants out when he stops in front of us.

"What?" Elena and Bonnie demand at the same time and snap their heads towards him.

"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy, come on." Then Alaric runs back towards the school and a cold chill runs down my spine.

"Guys I don't think we should go with him," I whisper to Bonnie and Elena but Bonnie still takes off.

"We have to, he has Jeremy." Elena pleads and I reluctantly nod and follow her.

Alaric leads us into an abandoned hallway and the cold chill makes my hair rise on the back of my neck. I look around warily, "Guys, we shouldn't have followed him, this doesn't feel right."

Elena looks around too, "She's right, we should go back."

Bonnie ignores us though, "Where's Jeremy?"

Alaric starts to laugh and explains, "I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties, ew not my decade. I mean, whose call was that anyway?"

Slowly I grab a hold of the back of Elena's and Bonnie's dresses and take a step back with them away from Alaric.

"I actually much prefer the twenties the style, the parties, the jazz." Alaric gives us the creepy smile that he gave me from before and takes a step towards us.

"Alaric, are you on vervain?" Elena asks and I whisper in response.

"I really don't think that's Alaric."

"Now why would you ask me that question Elena, Bella almost had it right actually." He says and my eyes widen. "So try again."

Bonnie pushes Elena back and I take a step in front of Elena too. Bonnie and I may not get along all the time but we do agree on some things, like keeping Elena safe at all costs.

"You're not Alaric," I say louder, "but how can that be, if you're not compelled?"

Elena whispers from behind us, "Klaus," and I whip my head around to stare at her in shock.

"Surprise," Alaric sings and I turn back to him and get ready to run. I trust that Bonnie can take care of him with her enhanced powers. She says that she will do anything to protect Elena so here's her chance to prove it. "Just relax Elena; you're not on my hit list tonight. But Bonnie is," he says and tries to run at Bonnie only for her to toss him into the lockers.

Alaric stumbles to his feet, "Now did I mention that I know a witch, you're gonna have to hit me harder than that." Bonnie throws him across the hallway and into the trophy case. Alaric lands in a pile of glass but still gets up again.

"By all means, fire away. If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy," Alaric says.

"Run," I say to Elena and then scream it, "run!"

All three of us take off running and find Damon in the next hallway. "What happened?" He asks.

Elena is still gasping for breathing and Bonnie is watching all the doors so I answer, "Well they didn't listen to me when I said that we shouldn't follow Alaric and then we found out that Klaus is in Alaric's body."

"He's possessing it," Bonnie says frantically.

Damon's eyes widen and he looks to Elena and me, "Go find Stefan. Now." Elena and I take off while Damon stays behind to talk to Bonnie.

When we reach the gym I shout over the music, "I'll go this way, you go that way. If we find him meet back here but if we don't, still meet back here in one minute."

Elena nods and takes off into the crowd in one direction while I go the other way. We both spot Stefan at the same time and hurry through the crowd. I get there a few seconds after Elena through because I was farther away and had to move through a conga line. "Klaus is here," I here Elena tell Stefan. "He's possessing Alaric's body."

Stefan nods, "Where?" He asks and Elena pulls him across the dance floor and through the hallways. I hold up the rear and stop with Elena and Stefan when we see Damon. My breath is coming out in pants and my side is just killing me, I'm going to need to take up running again if I want to be able to run from vampires.

"What are you doing? Where's Bonnie?" Elena asks.

"She's doing what she has to do," Damon says cryptically and my eyes widen when I understand.

"No," I whisper but no one seems to hear me.

"Where is she?" Stefan demands.

Damon takes a step forward, "Let her do this Stefan."

"Dammit Damon, where is she?" Stefan yells. I don't think I've ever heard Stefan yell at all and I don't like it. Stefan is the quiet brother out of him and Damon and it feels weird for him to get angry and yell.

Stefan and Elena take off past Damon and I go to run after them but Damon grabs me around my waist. "Damon, let me go." I kick and try to wiggle out of his hold to no use.

He starts walking back through the hallways in the opposite direction that Elena and Stefan went. "No, I'm not going to let you see this. I don't want you to lose someone else."

"Damon, no. I can help, I'm gonna lose her anyway! I can help Elena!"

"How Bella?" He asks and puts me back on my feet and turns me to look him in the eyes. "You're just human so how can you help at all?"

His words tear more at the insecure wound in my chest. I gasp in pain but burry the hurt deep inside and push on, "I can help Elena grieve if Bonnie really does die. Or I can convince Bonnie that we can find another way." I plead with him to no use.

Damon shakes his head and throws me up onto his shoulder despite my protests, "Damon let me down."

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"Damon!"

"I'm not gonna let you get close enough to get hurt again Bella so you can either shut up and go willingly with me or we can do this the hard way." Damon says to me and I respond with more screaming and this time I add in hits to his back. "Hard way it is then."

Damon blurs to somewhere and suddenly I am put back on my feet. "Stay in here," Damon says and gently shoves me backward through an open door. Me being me, I trip over my feet and fall onto my butt. Damon shuts the door and I hear the sound of it locking just as I get to my knees.

"Damon! Let me out of here! You're such a dick, let me out! Damon!" I scream but nothing happens. I try to hear something through the door but everything is silent so I lean back against the door and give into the fact that I may be stuck here for a while.

* * *

It seems like hours later when I hear footsteps coming my way, it may have even been hours, I don't know. My eyes keep dropping and I want to fall asleep but only the threat of Alaric coming back and finding a door with something shoved until the doorknob keeps my from succumbing to unconsciousness.

My heart starts pounding in my chest when whatever is in front of the door is moved and I slowly stand up to face the person on the other side. The light from the hallway momentarily blinds me but once my eyes adjust I kick out and my foot connects with Damon's groin. He whimpers in pain but stays on his feet, which surprises me. I put a lot of force behind that kick.

"Never lock me in a closet again," I tell him and walk past him and out to the parking lot. My anger from before has diminished some but I am still plenty mad.

Damon opens his passenger side door for me and I huff angrily before sitting down. I came with Elena to the dance but I guess she must have left with Stefan so my only option is to walk or to go with Damon. Damon starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

"Why did you let Bonnie kill herself?" I ask in the silence.

He sighs, "I'm going to tell you what I just told Elena and Stefan. Klaus had to believe that Bonnie was dead or he was just going to keep coming after her. He wasn't going to stop until she was dead. We came up with a plan, she would cast a spell to make her look dead temporarily to trick Klaus and I would take her out to the witch burial site."

I look at Damon in shock but let him continue, "Klaus had to believe she was dead and the only way to do that was for Klaus to see Elena's genuine reaction to Bonnie's death."

I look out into the night and whisper in shock, "So she's going to be okay and Elena knows?"

Damon nods his head in my peripheral vision and I let out a huge sigh of relief. "I don't forgive you for locking me in the closet though." I tell him.

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Why did you lock me in the closet anyway? I wasn't going to be hurt and I could've helped Elena."

Damon snorts and I glare at him until he explains, "Knowing you, you would've gotten hurt somehow and I never want you to get hurt. Just the thought twists my insides into knots." He catches my gaze and I feel like I'm falling into the depth of emotion that is emitted from them. The deep blue both comforts me and makes me feel like I'm falling. I break eye contact and feel my cheeks warm in a blush.

He pulls into my driveway and I get out of his car only to lean back in for a moment, "I understand why you did what you did, Klaus was fooled and Bonnie is alive. But I want to be in the know next time, I don't want to be pushed to the sidelines every time something goes wrong."

He nods, "I promise."

"Good," I smile and then shut the door and head up to my door. I just grab my keys from the little pocket in my outfit when one of the steps creaks behind me. I spin around quickly and raise my hands in preparation to punch, thinking that it is Klaus or Katherine who is on my porch. I sigh in relief when I see that it is just Damon. "Yeah?" I ask.

He looks at me intently and I blush under his gaze. I feel like I'm naked under his piercing gaze and I quickly look up at him from under my eye lashes. Damon's eyes are dark as he steps so close to me that if I even breathe deeply, my chest will brush against him. Damon leans down and our lips are just millimeters from brushing and then his lips touch mine so gently. I stand frozen in shock. Sure, I'm attracted to Damon but I never thought that he would feel a fraction of what I feel to him. He pulls away slightly before crushing his lips to mine with more pressure and I respond. I reach up with my hands and wrap my fingers in his silky soft hair while his hands hold my face to his.

I never thought that I would ever kiss Damon and even in my imagination I never felt like this. My heart is beating rapidly and is trying to make its way out of my chest and butterflies fill my stomach. When we pull away, we are both breathing heavy but don't say anything to each other. I open my mouth to say something but Damon kisses my quickly again and I stare at him in wonder.

Damon walks quickly back to his car and I stare silently at him. I want to say something but my mouth won't open and my voice fails me. Damon looks over his shoulder only once while he gets into his car and in that one look I see so many emotions in his eyes that I can't name them. But I think I see awe and want but maybe I'm just imagining it.

When Damon's car disappears down the street I raise a hand to my lips. Did that really happen? Did Damon Salvatore, the man that I've been secretly crushing on for two years, really just kiss me?

I put those thoughts away, I will think of that later but for now all I want to do is get out of this hippie outfit and crash in bed. Which is exactly what I do.

* * *

**AN: Tell me what you think about that kiss. Was it good or no? Tell me in a review and I'll send you a preview of the next chapter.**


	20. We Won't Back Down

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter, I'm glad you all liked it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.18 – We Won't Back Down

_It's my time,  
This is just your resignation from our lives (Whoa)  
We won't back down,  
We won't back down.  
__**We Won't Back Down – Escape the Fate**_

A ringing of my cell phone pulls me out of a dream full of cotton candy and gum balls. I ignore the phone and try to fall back asleep only for it to start ringing again. With a groan, I roll over and grab it from my nightstand and answer the call.

"What?" I grumble.

"Bella, I need you to meet me at the Lockwood's house." Elena says and I roll my eyes.

"Why?" I whine.

"Because I need your help with something and Stefan and Damon already don't agree with me." Elena explains and I groan again before swinging my legs to the edge of the bed and sitting up.

"Elena if they don't agree then they are probably right, especially if they both think the same thing."

"Bella!" Elena whines and I sigh.

"Okay, okay, I'll come and help you. What do you need help with anyway?"

"You'll see, and hurry." Elena says before hanging up on me. I sigh before doing my morning routine quickly and changing into fresh clothes. I grab an apple before climbing into my car and driving to the Lockwood house. On the drive over there I can't help but think of that kiss that Damon and I had last night. Or three. What does it even mean? Did Damon want it to mean 'I care for you, don't get hurt' or 'I like you and the only way I can express my feelings is to show you'? No the second one is too girly, or was that what Damon meant. He can't really express his feelings that well and likes to use actions more but it may be something different too.

Should I confront him about it and demand answers? Or should I let him come to me with answers because pushing Damon doesn't help anything, it just backs him into a corner where he lashes out at anything near him.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts; I'll just have to likely brush the subject with Damon later but not now because Elena wants to talk to me.

I walk through the front door of the Lockwood house and say loudly, "Elena?"

"Living room," she calls back and I head in that direction.

When I see her and recognize who is next to her, my heart starting beating frantically in my chest and my eyes feel like they are going to pop out of their sockets. I groan, "No, no, no. Elena you have seriously lost it, you're crazy. Stefan and Damon are gonna be so mad at you and I'm not going to take the blame." I say and start backing up to the doorway.

Elena rushes to me and grabs me by the shoulders, "I know but this is the only way we will get answers. I don't want Bonnie to die so I'm finding another way to keep myself safe."

I groan again and raise my hands to cover my face and mumble into them, "It is official, you've gone crazy."

"Bella, please. Stay here with me and help me find other options." Elena pleads and after a few moments I begin to see Elea's argument. I reluctantly nod and pull my head out of my hands.

"But I want it on record that I didn't know until I showed up and didn't go along with it at first." Elena smiles widely and nods.

My phone starts ringing then and I pull it out of my pocket to see Damon's name flash across the screen. Elijah blurs towards us and grabs my phone from my hand before I can even think about answering it.

"Hey," I say as he pockets it and returns to his spot on this couch.

"No interruptions." He explains and then motions for us to sit down. "Klaus is my brother." Elijah says quickly and both mine and Elena's jaws drop in shock.

"I heard that, I'm still processing." Elena blinks quickly.

"Yes I'm a little behind on the times but I believe the term you're looking for is… omg." Elijah says and I start to giggle before full out laughing.

Elena gives me a look and I explain between giggles, "What? Did you ever think that one of the oldest vampires ever was going to say such a modern term? I know I didn't."

Elena shakes her head, "There's a whole family of Original's?"

Elijah stands up and goes to the mirror to fix his new suit. "My father was a wealthy land owner in eastern Europe our mother bore seven children."

"So, wait, your parents were human?" I ask. "How is that possible if you're a vampire now?"

Elijah shrugs, "Our whole family was human. Our origin as vampires is a very long story Elena and Bella, just know that we are the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family and from us all vampires were created."

"Yeah but Klaus is your brother, and you want him dead?" Elena asks.

"Yeah, why would you want that?"

"I need some air, I'm still feeling a bit," Elijah pauses and searches for a word, "dead."

* * *

"So as you've seen nothing can kill an Original. Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree, a tree my family made sure burned." Elijah explains.

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from." Elena says, connecting the dots.

"Yes, the witches won't allow anything truly immortal; every creature must have a weakness to maintain balance."

"So if the sun can't kill an Original why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking this curse? There has to be more to it, isn't there?" I ask.

Elijah laughs, "Right the curse of the Sun and the Moon. It sounds all so biblical, don't you think?"

Elena and I look at each other before saying at the same time, "What's so funny?"

"The easiest way to find the doppelganger and get your hands on some long lost moonstone is to have every single member of the two warring species on the lookout." Elijah explains.

"So it's not Aztec at all," Elena asks, following a little more slowly now.

I shake my head while Elijah answers, "The cure of the Sun and the Moon is fake. Doesn't exist."

"But if there's no curse?" Elena leaves the question open ended and Elijah answers.

"Oh there is a curse, just not that one. The real one is much worse, it's a curse placed on Klaus."

"Okay now I'm confused. What do you mean?" I ask.

"Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years and you are his only hope." Elijah says.

"Well what is this curse?" Elena asks. Elijah looks like he is going to answer and then goes to grab one of our cell phones that has been vibrating.

"Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing." Elijah says and pulls out Elena's cell phone. "Answer it, please."

I don't know what Stefan told Elena but she sure is wound up now. "Klaus went after Jenna; I have to go to her." Elena explains. Now it makes sense while Elena is so worried.

Elijah shakes his head, "I'm afraid that's not part of today's deal."

Elena glares at him, "She's my family, Elijah. I have to."

I butt in before it gets more heated. "Elena you should go, I'll stay here." I turn to Elijah then, "She will be back, she won't leave me here alone with you. I give you my word."

Elijah nods reluctantly, "Alright, I trust your word still. But if you don't return I will take Bella and use her as bait to draw out Klaus and use her in the sacrifice."

I turn back to Elena who is looking horrified between Elijah and me. I mouth 'Go' to her and she quickly leaves. I turn back to Elijah and we walk in silence around the little lake on the Lockwood property.

"How can you be so sure that Elena will come back?" Elijah asks after a few minutes of silence.

I take a moment to think of that before answering, "I trust her, I know that even though we have only known each other as siblings for barely a week, we love each other and will do anything for one another. And before I moved here we were the best of friends. I know her and she always keeps her promises, especially if someone she loves is in danger."

Elijah nods, "That's a well thought out answer."

"Yes so could you answer one of my questions?" Elijah motions for me to go ahead and I do. "Won't it be hard for you to kill your own brother? I mean, I can't even think of killing a stranger let along someone I love or used to love."

Elijah nods again and we walk over another little bridge, "It may be hard but I just remind myself of one fact every time I think of letting him live."

"And what's that?"

"Klaus didn't care when he daggered my family and buried them across the seas. So I must not care when I kill him. It is simply revenge in my mind, my family for him."

"Well, I'm very thankful that you are helping us to end Klaus' reign of terror. We wouldn't have the slightest clue without you, so thanks." I look towards him and he looks down at me in shock. I don't think anyone's thanked him for killing someone or thanked him at all by the looks of it. That must be hard, living without someone giving you even a bit of appreciation.

* * *

Elijah and I are sitting back in the Lockwood house when Elena finally shows up.

"Welcome back," Elijah greets her.

I look up from my spot on the couch, "Yeah, thanks for not leaving me here."

She rolls her eyes at me being sitting down next to me, "Tell us. What is Klaus' curse?"

"Klaus and my father fought often while human and when we became vampires we found out why. Klaus was not my fathers' son, my mother had been unfaithful many years before and this was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline." Elijah explains as he sits in the lone chair and then gets up again. "Of course when my father discovered this he hunted down and he killed my mothers' lover and his entire family. Not realizing that he was igniting a war between species that is raged until this day."

My mind picks out the key words in what Elijah told us: different bloodline, and war between species. Wait, there is only two species that are at was besides human vs. humans and that is vampires and werewolves. "You mean vampires and werewolves?" I ask to make sure.

Elijah nods and Elena asks, "So Klaus' real father was from a werewolf bloodline? Then what does that make him? A vampire or a werewolf?"

Elijah and I say at the same moment, "He's both." As I connect the dots in my head.

"A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power so the witches sought to it that my brothers' werewolf side would become dormant."

"That's the curse that Klaus wants to break?" Elena asks.

"He wants to trigger that part of him, if allowed Klaus would sire his own bloodline and build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone."

"Then how do we kill him?" I ask, getting right to the point as Elena gets up from the couch.

"Werewolves heal from silver and Original's can only die from white oak ash on a silver dagger, see the problem. The only way to kill him is if a witch could harness enough power to kill him." Elijah explains.

"And what if I said that I knew a witch that could harness that much power?" Elena asks.

"Then I would tell you that there is one more thing you should know, I found an elixir that could save the doppelgangers life when Katerina was going to be used for the sacrifice." Elijah explains.

"The elixir?" I ask in shock, "The elixir that is talked about in the books?"

"Wait, you can save my life?" Elena asks and Elijah nods and walks out the front door and we follow after him.

* * *

As we walk into the Salvatore house, we hear a commotion in the living room and rush to investigate. I see that Damon and Stefan are fighting again and Elena yells out, "Stop."

And I add, "Before you break anything else." And cross my arms over my chest.

Damon looks at us in shock as his eyes land on Elijah, "You invited him in?"

Elena nods, "We renewed the terms of our deal."

Elijah speaks from behind us, "The two of you will come to no harm at my hands." Elijah walks down the small amount of steps and stands in front of the Salvatore brothers. "All I want is an apology."

Stefan apologizes quickly and sincerely. I can tell that he means it but I can also tell that he also doesn't like the fact that Elena renewed her deal with Elijah. Everyone turns to Damon but he just shakes his head and glares at Elijah.

"The sacrifice is going to happen Damon," Elena says. "Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life."

"He has the elixir I told you about Damon, everything will be fine, trust me." I tell him but he doesn't believe me.

"Is that true?" Damon asks and I nod as Elijah assures him it is. "Then you can all go to hell." Damon says and walks out of the room but before he completely disappears I give him a look that says we are going to talk later.

Stefan tries to appease Elijah but it doesn't really work, "He's angry with me right now but he'll come around."

Elijah just replies, "Perhaps." Then he walks out the front door and into the night, but not before giving me back my cell phone.

I start to head for the stairs to go after Damon but Stefan stops me. I look at him in confusion and he answers, "You don't want to go up their right now, call him later Bella."

I recognize the look in his eyes and know enough to take his advice and leave the house and get into my car to drive home.

* * *

**AN: Remember to review and I'll give you a sneak peak of the next chapter!**


	21. Burn It Down

**AN: This chapter takes place a day before the sacrifice and the day after the last chapter. So this chapter is a chapter between the episode _Klaus_ and _The Last Day_. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing the last chapter! I think I got to everyone who reviewed with a sneak peak and I hope you all liked it. As you can see we are drawing to the end of this story, there are only five chapters left. I really enjoyed writing these last few chapters and especially the discussion scene with Damon and Bella.**

**Enjoy!**

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Ch.19 – Burn It Down

_The colors conflicted  
As the flames, climbed into the clouds  
I wanted to fix this  
But couldn't stop from tearing it down  
And you were there at the turn  
Caught in the burning glow  
And I was there at the turn  
Waiting to let you know  
__**Burn It Down – Linkin Park**_

As I slowly wake for my deep sleep, my fears are shown on the back of my eyelids: Damon rejecting me, Elena dying and never coming back without me knowing her better. Losing my friends, and Klaus killing everyone I love and care about.

I can't control Damon rejecting me but I can do something about my other fears. Elena would never let me take her place in the sacrifice but Elijah may go along with it and help distract her as I go and give myself up. I could even take the elixir so that I would come back, the books said that there was a really good chance that it would work.

I nod to myself at my plan but first, I'm going to try to talk Elena out of willingly going to Klaus. Maybe I can talk some sense into her and she'll look into more options than just her going to the sacrifice and using the elixir, there has to be more options.

I climb out of my bed and get ready for the day quickly before getting into my car and driving across town back to the Salvatore house. Elena will most likely be there since tomorrow night will be the sacrifice.

I park and don't even bother knocking on the front door and just let myself in. As I predicted Elena is here since I can hear her voice coming from the living room. I'm not sure where Damon and Stefan are but that doesn't matter too much right now. It's probably better that they aren't here right now because if they heard what I'm going to tell Elena, they would freak and probably lock me in the basement until the sacrifice is over.

I walk into the living room and see that Elena is on the phone so I quietly sit in a chair across from her until she hangs up. "Jenna?" I guess.

She nods, sighs and rakes a hand through her straight brown locks. "Yeah, she barely knows what's going on. I didn't think that I should dump everything on her at once so it's been gradual."

"That makes sense," I say and she hums in agreement. "Elena, you shouldn't go willingly to the sacrifice and Klaus."

"Bella, we've been over this a million times, this is the only way and it's the way that I can keep everyone safe."

"Everyone except you, though." I point out and she looks down at her feet in guilt. "Elena, I have a plan but I know that you aren't going to like it."

She asks hesitantly, "What is it?"

"I would go in your place to the sacrifice but take the elixir before so that I would come back." I say but Elena is already shaking her head.

"No, no, no. I'm not going to let you die for me Bella and besides that wouldn't work; it would unravel our entire plan." She pauses and gathers herself from completely snapping at me. "The doppelganger has to die for Klaus to go into transformation and only then can Bonnie push him to the edge of death, then Elijah can kill him."

I open my mouth to plead, "But-"

Elena shakes her head furiously and glares at me, "I have to do this Bella, what are you going to do? Nothing, because you're just human," Elena grimaces at what she said and I take the hurt from her words and use it to fuel my plan. "I'm not letting you do this for me." Elena says then gets up and walks to the front door. "I'll be at my house; you can come talk to me again when you start to think more clearly."

The door slams behind her and I scowl in its general direction. I get up to leave to my house when Damon blurs into front of me. I gasp at his sudden appearance and swallow hard at the look on his face.

He takes a step forward into my personal space and I take one back. "We don't even know for sure if the elixir will work and you want to chance your life on it?" Damon asks in a snarl.

I take a deep breath and don't back down from Damon. If you give him an inch against you, he'll keep pushing you until he gets exactly what he wants. "It will work; the books said that it would."

He scoffs, "Sure, some books can give you a guarantee on an elixir that they don't know everything about. How can we trust it if it doesn't have for sure rules for an expiration date?"

I look into the fireplace on the one side of the room and grudgingly accept Damon's argument but that doesn't mean that I'll give up on finding a better way to save Elena's life. "Then why are we trusting it to save Elena's life, hmm? You can use that same argument about it on anyone but why are we letting Elena use it?"

Damon's eyes blaze an electric blue fire, "Because we don't have another choice."

"There is always another choice. What if we get Bonnie to do a spell on me so that I can go to the sacrifice and be sure that I'll come back? Elena won't need to go near it at all." Just as I think that I've found a good argument Damon does something unexpected.

He grabs me by the shoulders and slams me against the wall behind me. "Don't be a martyr Bella. You don't need to be anywhere near the sacrifice so you won't."

"I'm not a martyr," I say defiantly.

Damon nods, "Yes you are, the only thing you're not doing is strapping a bomb to your chest."

I pause for a moment and think of a way around this argument. Just as I am about to give in to the fact that I can't think of anything, a light bulb goes off in my head. "You kill for your brother, right?"

Damon nods, not sure where this is going exactly. "Yes, but I don't-"

"I want to kill Klaus in a roundabout way for Elena and everyone else. I want to fix things around here so that everyone can have a normal life." I say with pleading eyes, begging for him to understand why I'm doing this.

Damon looks at me and his blazing eyes calm down until they are open and vulnerable. "But you won't be here." He says softly, begging me to reconsider.

"Why'd you kiss me Damon?" The words just slip out and it's too late to take them back. Now I'm waiting in dreadful anticipation for him to say something, anything.

"Because I care for you Bella, you somehow got under my skin and made me care. And that's another reason why you aren't going to be in the sacrifice." Damon whispers back to me and pulls us back onto subject before I can really think of what he said.

My lips purse in annoyance and I ball my hands into firsts, "Think everything through Damon, Bonnie hasn't found a spell that can save Elena yet and Elena doesn't want to be a vampire so the only thing that would work is the elixir. And if the elixir doesn't work and Elena dies, everyone will be upset but if I take it and it doesn't work, it won't impact as many people."

Damon had started shaking his head as soon as I began to speak and is still shaking his head, "You heard what Elena said about you taking her spot, it wouldn't make Klaus go into his transformation and then Bonnie wouldn't be able to almost kill him so Elijah could kill him. If you went, it would just throw off our plans and Klaus could do the sacrifice again in another month or kill everyone in town and kidnap Elena."

My eyes widen in realization and I look over his shoulder into space. Why didn't I think of Klaus coming back again if I went in Elena's spot and he didn't die? Of course he would kill everyone in town to get back at her and it would be my entire fault. But I'm stubborn and I'm sure that I can save Elena one way or another, even if I have to sacrifice myself.

"I'm trying to keep you safe Bella and you're making that more difficult than usual." Damon continues but I don't say a word. He sighs and cups my face with both hands, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "Promise me that you won't take Elena's place in the sacrifice, if not for Elena or me than for everyone else that could get hurt from your decision."

My shoulders slump in defeat and I nod, "I promise." But Damon didn't make me promise that I couldn't do something else to save Elena, only that I can't take Elena's place in the sacrifice. Now I see how foolish that decision was to try to take her place, I want Klaus dead, not angry and living so I will reluctantly let Elena go. But Bonnie will help me find a way to save Elena, she doesn't even really like me so that helps my case too. We've always fought and I know that she wants Elena to have the best chance at survival. We both have similar goals so we can both help each other.

The only way to keep Elena safe is for both her and Damon to believe that I have given up with my crazy plan. If they don't believe it then I will be carefully watched and won't be able to get my part in saving Elena done, whatever that may be.

I step out from Damon's hold and walk silently out the door to my car. I start it and carefully drive away. I head towards the manor where Bonnie is staying until the sacrifice since she is supposed to be dead and Klaus can't see that she is still alive.

I quickly walk inside and head down to where Bonnie is staying. There are candles all around the room and a little area filled with blankets that I'm assuming is where she sleeps. Bonnie herself is sitting in the middle of the room, eyes closed, looking like she is meditating.

"Yes?" She asks, breaking the quiet.

"Where's Jeremy?" I ask, wanting to make sure that we are completely alone.

"He went home to get some more food." Bonnie says, "Why?"

"Can you help me find a better way to save Elena?" I ask and Bonnie slowly turns to face me.

"What do you mean?" She shifts nervously.

"I mean, I don't want to chance the elixir not working and I know that the others will come here later asking for a spell just as plan B. I will be willing to do anything, sacrifice anything to make sure that she comes back and is human and not some half vampire." I look meaningfully into her eyes.

Bonnie tries to hide it but her eyes dart to her spell book a few times, "I-I."

"Bonnie," I cut in, "we may not even need to use a spell but it would be good to have just in case something goes wrong."

She sighs and looks at me for once in the years that I've known her with a small amount of awe in her eyes. It may be a small amount but at least it's there. She stands and walks to where her spell book is laying on a table and opens it. I walk over beside her and watch her flip through pages and pages of spells. She stops on a page filled with words and pushes the book closer to me but I can't read it since it is in some other language.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's a spell that connects two people. According to the story a baby was dying and the mother had the witch put this spell on her. When the baby died, it came back to life completely human but the mother died in its place." Bonnie explains.

I look up at her, my curiosity barely hidden in my gaze. "How?"

"It's a life force binding spell. If the person you are connected to dies then your life force will bring them back to life, but the catch is that you die in their place." Bonnie explains.

I nod slowly as I think everything through, "Okay, I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a rough day, if I can't get here before the sacrifice, don't use the spell. If I do come here and we still don't need to use it, I'll tell you. The only time we'll use the spell is if it's absolutely necessary but it's nice to know it's there."

Bonnie grabs my arm and says seriously, "Bella, I can't promise you that you'll live if we use the spell. You will die and I can't bring you back."

I nod and slowly pry her fingers off my arm. She never liked me before this and I don't need her pity, "I understand, don't worry."

I walk back to the door but stop before I leave, "Don't tell anyone about this, not even Jeremy. And thank you Bonnie."

Bonnie nods and goes back to sitting on the floor as I walk outside to my car. Once inside the safety of my car I hook my phone up to the speakers and place a call to a number I never thought I'd call again.

"Hello?"

"Angela, I need a question answered." When I moved to Forks after learning of the supernatural from Damon I noticed some key things about my friend Angela Weber. It turns out that she comes from a long line of witches but her family is nowhere near as powerful as the Bennett line.

"Shoot."

I start to pull out of the driveway and get onto the road back to my house, "Hypothetically, if I had an elixir that could keep me safe from death, would it still work if a witch bound my life force to someone else and that someone else died?" I ask.

"Bella?" Angela asks hesitantly.

"Just answer the question Angela." I say as I turn onto my block.

She answers my question and I thank her before hanging up and going into my house.

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**AN: They believe that the only way to save Elena so far is the elixir and they won't use Bella because then they won't be able to kill Klaus. This is why there is a double catch to using the elixir, if you have any more questions PM me and I'll answer them. **

**Remember to review and I'll give you a sneak peak of the next chapter! **


	22. Save You

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries, they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.20 – Save You

_Sometimes I wish I could save you  
And there're so many things that I want you to know  
I won't give up till it's over  
If it takes you forever I want you to know  
__**Save You – Simple Plan**_

The entire trip over to the Salvatore house this morning is a blur, the only thing that I really remember is thinking about what Angela said last night and what Bonnie and I have come up with. And one other thing, thinking that Klaus can pick and choose any vampire to use in the sacrifice tonight; it could be Damon, Caroline, Stefan or Katherine if he chooses.

Of course I'm freaking out today but for more than one reason. First, because Elena could possibly die and not comeback today and second, a vampire I know will die tonight. Also I have a feeling that someone will try to give Elena vampire blood because they won't trust the elixir, whether that be Damon, Stefan, Caroline or Elijah I don't know. But if she is forced to take it then my plan will work perfectly because I know she doesn't want to be a vampire just yet.

But the real reason I'm freaking out is from what Angela told me last night, she did confirm that I would live if I take the elixir and die in Bonnie's spell. That's the good part of this but there is still the chance that the elixir won't work. But I can't think like that, I must believe that the elixir will work or I'll be frozen under all my fears and worries.

I walk into the house and through the hallway into the living room where I hear voices talking.

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting but if he breaks it, he will be a true hybrid." I walk into the living room and silently take a seat on the couch beside Elena.

Damon walks in seconds after I do, "Then why are we letting him break his curse. We can kill him today, with Bonnie." Damon's eyes are frantic; he's looking for way to keep everyone he cares about safe even if that means letting Bonnie sacrifice herself.

What I don't get is how Damon can let Bonnie use her powers to the point of her death to kill Klaus but won't let me sacrifice myself to kill Klaus. The divide between me and Bonnie though must be that Damon cares about me more, he told me himself yesterday that he cared for me. But how deep does it run? Does he know that I care for him too or does he believe that his feelings are one-sided like they were with Katherine?

I shake my head, "Damon, we're not letting Bonnie use that much power just to kill Klaus when she will die."

He shrugs, "I'll write her a great eulogy."

Elena glares at him, not finding the situation humorous. "It's not an option Damon."

Stefan steers us back to the subject at hand, "Alright, how to we break this curse?"

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straight forward and the ingredients you already know." Elijah moves around Damon to the back of the lone chair.

"The moonstone," I say.

Elijah nods, "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus being both werewolf and vampire will sacrifice one of each."

"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asks.

"The final part of the ritual," Elijah says and grabs something from a nearby bookshelf. It's a rectangular box that I have never seen before so Elijah must have brought it with him this morning sometime. "Klaus will drink the blood of the doppelganger to the point of your death."

Stefan grabs Elena's hand to comfort her and she takes in a shaky breath, "And that's where you come in."

Elijah flips open the box and I sit up straighter in curiosity. "This is an elixir that I acquired some five hundred years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."

The bottle is not just a regular vial, it is very well crafted and it looks like it would hurt to hold with its sharp points. Elena asks for conformation if she will come back and Elijah nods.

Damon looks at all of us incredulously, "That's your plan? Some mystical potion with no expiration date? What about John's ring?"

I shake my head, "She's a supernatural occurrence Damon, the ring wouldn't protect her." I tell him and a light bulb goes off in my head. Elena may not be able to use the ring but I can because I'm just human, not a supernatural occurrence. And the ring is a for sure way for me to come back to life instead of taking a risk on the elixir that, like Damon says, has no expiration date. But how do I get my hands on John or Jeremy's ring without them noticing it's gone?

Damon glares at me but I can tell that there is no real heat behind it, "What if it doesn't work Elena?"

"Then I'll just be dead." Elena says simply.

Damon looks to Stefan and then to me for any help but we both look away from him and shrug. This is Elena's choice and we can't force her to change her mind. Damon walks back out of the living room and I can hear him walk up the stairs and into his room above us.

LINEBREAK

After Alaric's dramatic little entrance and message from Klaus everyone is on edge. Even I'm on edge and I know that everything will be fine, or at least I'm hoping that everything will be. Stefan is currently interrogating Alaric when Elena asks where Damon is.

"I saw him go upstairs," Jenna says, sitting on the ugly floral pattern couch across from me.

Elena gets up and goes upstairs after Damon while everyone else stays downstairs. Seeing that this interrogation is getting us nowhere I stand up too, grab Stefan by the arm and drag him into the hallway for a little chat.

"How are you dealing with everything?" I ask and lean against one wall.

He shrugs and takes up an identical position to mine but on the other wall, "I may not completely trust Elijah but I do trust Elena's instincts. If she trusts him, then I'm going to trust him too. And what else can I do Bella; this is our only other option."

A scream from upstairs pulls our attention away from the conversation and I'm frozen in fear. Did Klaus come early and take Elena, wanting to make sure that she didn't run. Stefan takes off upstairs and I follow quickly after him. The scream came from Damon's bedroom and I have a sinking feeling in my gut but I pray that what I think happened didn't.

I skid around the doorway and almost trip over Elena who is lying on the floor, blood dripping from her chin and onto her shirt. A noise from across the room brings my head up and I see Stefan standing over Damon.

"What did you do? What did you do?" Damon gets up and Stefan punches him in the face repeatedly until he is back on the floor. I wrap my arms around Elena and rock her as she coughs.

"Shh, shh, you're fine now. It'll be alright." I tell her while not taking my eyes off the two brothers. Elena's starts crying into my shoulder and Stefan shoves Damon over a chest and into a wall, knocking over a lamp.

"Stop!" I yell over the commotion. But no one listens to me and Damon grabs the broken light post and tries to jab Stefan with it. Stefan pushes it away and punches Damon repeatedly in the face again and he falls down next to the post. Damon turns around and with the light post in his hand, shoves it into Stefan's stomach.

Elena scrambles over to Stefan and tries to keep him from falling onto his face. I stand and keep Jenna and Alaric from getting too close. "Get out of here Damon," I hiss at him and he slowly stands.

He blurs towards me and I take a shocked step back. My heart pounds in my chest but the only thing I can ask is, "Why?"

"Both you and Stefan would've been crushed if the elixir didn't work. I took matters into my own hands, no one wanted to make the hard decision." Damon says with dull eyes and he walks silently out.

The last words hit home and silently I wonder if maybe I shouldn't make this decision .Maybe I should just let it play out and keep the good thing I have with Damon going. But I can't do that, the guilt at knowing I could've done something but didn't would eat and eat at me until I'd break. I need to try my way, it has a better chance of working and Elena will get to stay human.

After Elena pulls the post from Stefan's stomach and Jenna brings some blood bags, I head downstairs to see Elijah putting the elixir away and placing the wooden box on the bookcase.

"Can Elena still use the elixir?" I ask frantically.

He shakes his head and looks at me with that same blank expression that he always wears. "Vampire blood renders the elixir useless. Tell Elena that I will be back by nightfall." He doesn't even wait for me to acknowledge that I've heard him, he just blurs out.

Now the only way for Elena to live through the sacrifice and stay human is up to me. I knew that this was a possibility but now that it is reality my chest feels tight and I can barely breathe. I slowly sit down and put my head between my knees, needing a second to get a hold on everything.

This is what I wanted, right? I wanted to save Elena, I even went far enough to find a backup plan just in case we needed it. After a few deep breaths I raise my head and slowly get to my feet. It's my turn to save Elena and keep her safe, and I'll be damned if I fail.

I walk upstairs and find Elena and Stefan sitting and talking quietly on Damon's bed. "Are you both okay?"

They look at me at the same time. Elena smiles gently at me and waves me over. I pull her into a hug when I am close enough and take a peek at Stefan's stomach. It's healed nicely but it must still be hurting.

"We're fine, or going to be fine." Elena answers and Stefan wipes a tear left behind.

"I'm going to take Elena out for the day, to get away from everything." Stefan explains and I nod, liking the idea already.

"I'll hold down the fort for all of us, don't worry." Elena glances at me and I smile reassuringly. "Go, have fun, you deserve it."

"Thanks Bella," she returns my smile.

LINEBREAK

I pull up in front of the witch house and hurry inside and down the stairs. Bonnie is sitting at the desk on one side of the room reading another book.

"Don't you get tired of sitting in here reading? I know I would." I tell her and she look at me from over her shoulder. She must see the frantic look in my eyes because she gets up and walks over to me.

"What happened?"

"Damon forced Elena to drink his blood. She'll turn into a vampire tonight if we don't do the spell."

Bonnie blinks at me, "W-why would he do that?"

I shake my head, "He wanted to make sure that Elena comes back after the sacrifice, he didn't want to take a risk on the elixir."

She nods and then rushes around the room. She grabs a grimoire and pulls the chair that she was sitting on into the middle of the room. "Sit here and I'll do the spell."

I sit down on the chair and Bonnie places her book on the floor after taking a quick second to memorize the spell. "Just relax."

I close my eyes as she mumbles under her breath and puts her hands under my chin, I can't feel anything happening or changing but I trust Bonnie. After a few minutes she pulls away and stops talking. I open my eyes and stand up from the chair and turn to look at her.

"Thank you for doing this Bonnie, just make sure you don't mention this to anyone."

A floorboard creaks, "Mention what to anyone?" Jeremy asks, he looks between the two of us as Bonnie and I glance away in guilt. "Bella? What did you two do?"

"We did a spell Jeremy," I explain, barley able to meet his eyes.

Jeremy takes a step in the room and is about to speak when he crumbles. "Jeremy!" I yell and dart over to catch him before he slams his head on the hard floor. I look up at Bonnie, "What did you do?"

"He was going to run and tell the others what we were planning; I couldn't let him do that. It would ruin Elena's chances." Bonnie explains.

I nod reluctantly and hold Jeremy closer to me. My eyes land on his hands where the clunky Gilbert ring sits on one of his fingers. I glance up at Bonnie to see that she is back to reading another book so she won't notice what I'm about to do. Quickly, I pull Jeremy's ring off of his hand and put it in my pocket for later use.

That was easier than I thought it would be but now it's done. I will come back to life for sure and so will Elena. I'm just not going to tell anyone about the ring just in case I don't come back. I don't want to get their hopes up only to crush them down if I don't wake up. The spell will drain me of my life force but I should come back because I would die of a supernatural event. Then again, I may not come back because it wasn't an accident.

I shake those thoughts from my head and grab my cell phone from my pocket. I dial the number from memory and wait for someone to pick up. "Hello?" Jenna answers.

I sigh in relief, "Jenna listen to me, don't leave the house. Not for anything okay?"

"Bella, why are you telling me this?" Jenna asks.

I shake my head even though she can't see it, "Jenna just listen and understand, do not leave that house under any circumstances. Not even if Elena calls you, it may be Katherine. So wait there until the sacrifice is over."

"But Bella-"

"No buts Jenna, if you leave the house and Klaus decides to use you someway and you die; it would kill Elena and Jeremy. Not to mention Ric. Ric should be coming back there tonight so stay there with him and stay safe."

She sighs and says slowly, "Alright Bella, I'll stay inside. I won't even answer the phone unless I know the number, okay?"

I nod and smile, "Okay, I'll talk to you later Jenna." Then I hang up and put my phone back in my pocket.

At that moment Jeremy bolts upright and looks around him before his eyes settle on me. I can tell the moment that he remembers what happened since his eyes widen and he tries to move away from me.

"We can keep Elena safe and human now Jeremy, we found a spell." I say with a smile

His brown eyes are cautious, "What type of spell?"

Bonnie steps in and walks towards us, "A resuscitation spell. Elena will die and then come back to life as a human."

"Then why is Bella here?"

Bonnie looks at me, her eyes asking if she should tell him and I nod, "The spell binds Elena's life force to Bella's so when Elena dies, Bella will be drained of her life energy and Elena will come back to life."

Jeremy looks at me with wide eyes, "She wouldn't want you to do this for her Bella."

I nod, "That's why she and everyone outside of this room will find out after the sacrifice."

My words are full of meaning and I hope that Jeremy understands. Thankfully he does and he nods reluctantly.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! If you'd all be nice and leave a review, I'll send you a sneak peak of the next chapter!**


	23. I'll Be Gone

**AN: Thanks to everyone who review, favorited or alerted the last chapter. I appreciate every single one and I'm glad that you all like my story. As you can probably tell, this story is winding down now. There are only about 4 chapters left and then I'll post this new story I've been working on. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Enoy!**

* * *

Ch.21 – I'll Be Gone

_Like shining oil, this night is dripping down  
Stars are slipping down, glistening  
And I'm trying not to think what I'm leaving now  
No deceiving now, it's time you let me know.  
Let me know._

_When the lights go out and we open our eyes,_  
_Out there in the silence, I'll be gone, I'll be gone._  
_Let the sun fade out and another one rise_  
_Climbing through tomorrow, I'll be gone, I'll be gone._

_**I'll Be Gone – Linkin Park**_

Footsteps creak on the floor above us and the three of us hold our breath as the stranger walks down the stairs. John enters our line of vision and the three of us let out a sigh of relief.

"Damon wanted me to see if I could help in anyway," John explains and comes to sit on the pile of blankets next to me. Just as he sits down my phone rings in my pocket and I pull it out and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Bella, where are you?" Damon asks and I can tell from just his voice that he is angry. But I don't know what about and still my heart beats faster. Did he figure out what I've done yet? No, that's not possible, only Bonnie and Jeremy know and they don't even know my entire plan.

"I'm with Bonnie and Jeremy looking for spells," I respond slowly.

"Good, is John there yet?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Can he help in anyway, a spell or potion, something?" Damon asks.

"One minute, let me put you on speaker." I pull my phone away from my face and press a single button then turn up the volume.

"So can John be used in anyway?" Damon asks again and just as Bonnie is about to say no I nod my head.

She looks at me in confusion, clearly not understanding where my thoughts are but says, "Yes, we think we have a spell that can be useful but we still need to read it over more."

"Okay, Bella stay there and stay safe." Damon says and my heart flutters at his concern, even if it is a tad too late. The guilt churns in my stomach but I solidify my resolve.

"I will," I whisper and then end the call.

John looks at all of us, "Is there actually a spell that can keep Elena safe and human?"

We all nod at the same time and Bonnie explains, "It's called a life-force binding spell. Emily did this spell once before, a baby was dying and the mother wanted help so Emily bound their life-forces together. Then when the baby died, the mothers' energy flowed into the child and restored her back to life."

"And you're going to cast the spell on me?" John asks.

"No."

"What? Then how are we going to save Elena?" He asks, eyes flashing in anger.

"I've already did the spell on someone else," Bonnie pauses and looks to me, "Bella."

John is shocked and turns to me, "What?" He whispers.

"All we want you to do is pretend that you are the one in the spell and cover for me until the sacrifice is over and Elena comes back to life." I explain to him and expect him to be furious and rant and yell but he doesn't. All he does is nod in understanding.

* * *

Twenty minutes later my cell rings again from its spot on the floor and I see Damon's name flash on the screen. I answer it then put it on speakerphone. "You're on speakerphone Damon."

"Have you guys found a spell yet?" Damon asks and I nod for John to answer.

"It's called a life-force binding spell. Emily did this spell once before, a baby was dying and the mother wanted help so Emily bound their life-forces together."

Damon interrupts, "Get to the save Elena part." He snaps.

John rolls his eyes, "Then when the baby died, the mothers' energy flowed into the child and restored her back to life. The mother died but the child was saved. I'm going to be used in the spell with Elena."

"Really, you're going to believe in some mumbo jumbo?" Damon responds sarcastically and I can't hold back my smile.

"Damon, Emily Bennett did it so it means that it works. And if you're worried that Bonnie can't do it, she has all the dead witches' power to help her." I explain. Damon huffs over the phone and is quiet for a while. "I'm sorry Damon," I say to fill the silence and also to tell him my apology for what I'm going to do.

"No, if that's the best option we have then we'll have to use it. Alright, see you all in a few hours." Damon hangs up them and I end my side of the call and put my phone in my pocket.

After a few moments of silence Jeremy speaks up, "Not to sound ungrateful or rude Bella, but… why aren't you breaking down yet?"

I shrug, not really knowing the answer myself. "I think it's because I have complete faith in what I'm going to do and I know that it's worth it."

"But what if the spell doesn't work and you die and Elena still comes back as a vampire?" Jeremy questions.

"I never thought of that," I muse. "If the spell doesn't work then at least I tried. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that I could've tried something and didn't just because I was afraid to die. Death shouldn't be something we are scared off. Everyone dies eventually, it's the end of all life's pain."

That same thing goes with the ring though. What if it doesn't work? Then the last time that I have seen Damon is after he forced Elena to take his blood and the last time that I have heard his voice is over the phone talking about the spell that I'm going to be in but he doesn't know. If I do die and don't come back Damon will hate me forever for doing this. He won't ever forgive me even though I'm doing something to save someone else.

Those last couple thoughts finally get to me and my eyes well up with tears. I try to keep them back but at the looks of sympathy from Bonnie, Jeremy and John the tears start to fall. I try to take a deep calming breath but it hitches in my throat and I start sobbing quietly.

John wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his body. I put my face in the crook of his neck and grip his leather jacket tightly in my balled fists. "I'm scared." I mumble between sobs.

John rubs my back soothingly as I continue to cry on his shoulder, soaking a part of his shirt with my tears. "I know, and it's okay to be scared. Everyone's scared of death Bella."

I nod and whisper so that only he can hear me, "I don't want to die," I take in a shuttering breath and say it stronger but still as quiet, "I don't want to die but it's the only way to keep Elena alive."

John continues to rub my back and speaks softly to me, "You're doing something that no ordinary person would ever do for someone else and I admire you so much for that. I just wish that I could've kept you girls away from all this so that you wouldn't've needed to make this decision. Everyone will remember you for the courage you have and will keep you alive in their hearts."

I don't know when I started to not hate John as much as I did when I first met him but somehow I've slowly one from hating him to getting along with him to thinking of him as another father figure. Maybe it was the night Elena was kidnapped and we had our talk or maybe I just slowly warmed up to him. I don't know.

I pull away from John after a few minutes calming down and pulling myself back together. I bite down on my tongue hard and the rest of my tears disappear. I sit back against the wall and wipe the tears off of my cheeks. Jeremy and Bonnie are across the room reading over some more books, trying to give me as much privacy as possible while still staying hidden in the basement. Bonnie looks at the two of us before turning back to Jeremy, muttering a few words and Jeremy suddenly slouches and falls to the floor unconscious.

"It's time, I have to go now." Bonnie explains and John and I nod.

"Good luck Bonnie," I tell her.

She looks at me, dark eyes thankful and says, "Thanks for doing this Bella, this means a lot to everyone."

I nod and Bonnie disappears upstairs.

* * *

When Jeremy wakes up a few moments after Bonnie leaves, he is angry at us for letting Bonnie go. But after a few minutes he calms down and understands that Bonnie won't die tonight and she will come back to him.

All of us Gilberts' sit here in silence and I watch the clock tick and time pass. From what I understand, Elena won't be sacrificed until last and that won't be for a half hour or more so I have time.

Jeremy looks up from reading his ancestors' journal and asks me, "Did you finish reading the story Bella?"

"Yes." I say simply.

Jeremy raises an eyebrow, "So you understand that you won't come back after you die. You'll just be… dead."

I nod, "The mother saved her daughter and I'm going to save Elena." I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, "I'm needed in this Jeremy and besides, the spell has already been done."

"Bella," Jeremy says with a pleading look but drops it.

I stand and stretch my sore muscles, "It'll be getting close to that time, I'm gonna head out and watch the moon set."

Nobody tells me to stay, both of them know that this is what I want and I want to be alone for my last minutes. I walk up the stairs and head around to the back. I open the back door and step outside into the cool night air. The cool breeze feels nice after the stuffy basement and I just bask in it for a few moments. Then I put one hand in my pocket and pull out Jeremy's ring which he still hasn't noticed is gone. I look at it before putting it on the middle finger of my right hand. It's a little big on me but not so big that it can easily fall off. I then twist it so that the large stone is facing my palm.

I look up at the large moon and just stand there, thinking. What would my life have been like if I never came with Charlie down to Mystic Falls that first time? What if I didn't run into Elena that first night I was here? What if I never met Damon or he compelled me to forget what I saw in the woods two years ago?

If I never met Damon would I still have fallen in love with Edward? I like to think that I wouldn't have but who knows? I still fell in love with him a bit even after meeting Damon and knowing that Edward was a vampire. It may have only been a little over a week since I've moved to Mystic Falls but it seems like I've lived here forever and that my time in Forks never happened. I don't even think about Edward or his family anymore because I have moved on.

I could've done so many things differently in my life, but where would that have taken me? Maybe my life would've been worse, maybe better. I don't know but then again, nobody knows what their life could've been like if they had chosen a different path.

I feel a tug deep inside my chest and my breath catches at the shock of it. It felt like someone had put their hand in their chest and tried to pull my heart from my ribcage. That must mean that Elena has died now, or maybe she is just waking up. Either way my part in the spell will be happening soon and there is nothing that I can or want to do to change it.

The sudden harsh reality of my situation is getting to me as my breaths come faster. I take a deep breath and hold it to ward of a panic attack and think clearly. I slowly let out the breath and feel calmer. Maybe I should call Damon just one last time, just to hear his voice as I go. His voice sounds like honey and I would be so good for my nerves but he would figure out what I'm doing if I did call him. He'd be able to tell that I was upset and hiding something from him then he'd come and try to find me to see what's wrong. He'd find me too early and he might find me before I die. I don't want him to watch me die, I don't.

My phone vibrates in my pocket before I can completely decide whether to call Damon or not. The name on the screen takes most of that choice away from me though because Damon is calling. My thumb moves over the answer button as my heart begs me to answer it. My mind though tells me that it would be better if I don't answer and slowly my thumb moves over the reject button and I press it.

The vibrating stops so I put my phone back in my pocket but only after turning it off. I don't want to be tempted again.

My life-force has left me so slowly that I haven't even felt it until now. Now I feel light headed and unsteady on my feet. I shake my head to try to clear the funny feeling but it doesn't help, instead it just makes everything worse.

My vision starts to blacken but I fight the feeling to close my eyes. I want to remain standing tall as I die, I don't want to just lie down and accept it too easily. It may seem weird but standing up as I die is like giving Klaus and the world the middle finger. Telling them that I may die but I'm doing it on my terms and I'm not going to take it lying down, literally.

My knees start to shake then and my feet feel like they are falling asleep on me. Then the pins and needles sensation slowly travels up my legs. I don't know why I haven't died just yet, maybe it is my subconscious that is trying to hold onto this world. Maybe, I just want to see Damon so badly that I'm pushing off my last moments. But they will come, it's inevitable.

"Bella!" Someone calls my name but it sounds like it is coming through a long tunnel. My tongue feels thick in my mouth and I can't answer them even if I tried. "Bella!" The voice comes again and I glance back over my shoulder and lock eyes with Damon. His blue orbs are wide with relief and he slowly walks to me from the witches' house.

I smile slightly at the hallucination. I guess I got my wish even if this Damon is only a hallucination. The real Damon is probably making sure that Elena and everyone else is alright before coming back to the witch house to grab me and Jeremy. The real Damon wouldn't be here just yet but I'm still thankful to this hallucination. At least I get to see one last look at Damon with his hypnotizing eyes and bad boy hair and clothes before I go.

A sharp pain runs up through my entire body and I tense against it. My eyes shut against the pain and I feel myself falling as my muscles relax completely. I drift into the darkness that has been creeping up on me and don't even feel my body hit the ground.

* * *

**AN: Cliffy! I know, I know but don't hurt me yet. Remember, anyone who reviews will get a sneak peak of the next chapter which is Damon's POV.**

**So review please and tell me what you thought of this chapter!**


	24. Lullaby

**AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. There was an amazing amount of feedback, the most that this story has gotten yet. I'd also like to point out that this story has reached over 100 reviews! Woo! That was my goal for this story. Can we maybe try for 125? It won't be that hard. **

** So like in _Love Me to Pieces _and _In the Darkness _if you kill an Original Vampire, the rest of their bloodline does not die. Only the Original dies while all of the other vampires that came from their line still live. Okay?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.22 – Lullaby

_Please let me take you  
Out of the darkness and into the light  
'Cause I have faith in you  
That you're gonna make it through another night  
Stop thinking about the easy way out  
There's no need to go and blow the candle out  
Because you're not done  
You're far too young  
And the best is yet to come  
__**Lullaby - Nickelback**_

**Damon Salvatore POV**

People think that I should regret giving Elena my blood and I must say that I do. I regret it because I don't want her to hate me and she should've had the choice whether or not to be changed into a vampire. I know that I would've rather had the choice to become a vampire or not, instead of having the choice taken away from me. But she's my brother's girlfriend, Bella's sister, and I'd like to think that she's my friend. I couldn't let her just die and depend on a silly elixir with no expiration date. Besides if I hadn't given Elena my blood and she died in the sacrifice, Bella and Stefan would've been crushed.

Everything that I have done in the last two days has been to keep people close to Elena and Bella from dying or to postpone the sacrifice. But mostly both. That's why I freed Tyler and Caroline, they are both close to the Gilbert sisters and they would've lost someone they truly cared about if Tyler and Caroline died. It may seem sappy but it makes sense in the bigger picture. If no one close to our gang of friends dies in the sacrifice and Elena comes back to life, this horrible chapter can be closed and not thought back on with grief.

When I freed Tyler and Caroline though, the silly Matt Donovan just had to get involved. He was supposed to have forgotten the existence of the supernatural but it seems that Blondie didn't make sure that he had forgotten. He showed up and helped me kill Klaus' witch but when we were escaping he walked so slow and was way too jumpy with his gun. I mean, if you have to wield a gun you should know exactly how to use it and not be so damn jumpy. He could've killed any one of us at one point.

Then of course, Tyler Lockwood had to start his transformation into a wolf and I fought him. Caroline was protecting Matt so I wrestled with the wolf while the blondes ran for cover. Tyler almost bit me the one time but luckily I kicked him where no man, or wolf, wants to be kicked and he got a little more control. It was just enough to let me send Caroline and Matt to the Lockwood cellar and for me to run into town and to Alaric's apartment.

I tried to get Klaus to postpone the sacrifice only for him to knock me out and when I woke up, both Katherine and Klaus were gone. No note, nothing just gone. They probably were at the sacrifice so I went back home to try and think of another way to postpone the sacrifice or to keep Elena from turning into a vampire.

There I found John and a light bulb went off in my head. Sometimes family members can be used in spells so why can't John? So I sent him to Bonnie to see if he could help in anyway and found that Bella was over there too. I had thought that she was staying at either my house or hers while the sacrifice was taking place but it seems that her ability of always wanting to help drew her to Bonnie. And even though Bonnie and Bella don't get along to well, it seems they worked together this one time.

She said that they had found a spell that could bind John's life force to Elena's so when she died, she would come back to life as a human but John had to die in her place. Since it's the only option that keeps Elena human that's the one I told Bonnie to use. If John wanted to sacrifice himself, then who am I to try and stop him?

Now I walk to meet up with Stefan, Bonnie and Elijah in the woods before we take out Klaus. And we will take out Klaus, it's inevitable the only variable is how long his death will last. I find them quickly and we don't say anything as we continue on our journey through the woods. As the four of us come upon the old quarry where Klaus is breaking his curse, I take in everything from the rings of fire to his witch to even Klaus himself.

A ring of fire surrounds Elena but she sits quietly in the middle, not fighting at all. A dead body is next to where Klaus stands and I can see the blonde hair of Jules. The fire circle next to Elena's slowly dies down and I get a glimpse of Katherine before she tries to run only for Klaus to grab her. He yanks her towards where his witch is standing near a rock shaped bowl and says something to her that I can't quite catch over the roar of the flames. Klaus stands before her and plunges a wooden stake into her chest, Katherine gasps for air and tries to squirm away but it is useless. Katherine slowly turns gray and veiny and Klaus lets go of his hold on her. She drops like a sack of potatoes and doesn't get up again. Its official, Katherine Pierce is finally dead and out of our lives.

I don't feel any guilt over Katherine's death, she was a selfish person and her death has been coming for her ever since she escaped Klaus. And no matter how much I wanted to be the one to finally end her, I know that I probably wouldn't have been able to do it. Katherine would've manipulated me into keeping her alive so I'm glad that she's dead and gone forever.

Next the flames die down around Elena and Klaus asks her to come with him. He holds out his hand to help her up but she stands up on her own and walks past him, head held high. Klaus whispers, "Thank you Elena."

And she replies, "Go to hell," just before Klaus bites her.

Stefan tries to run forward but I hold him back, "She'll be fine Stefan." Klaus lets Elena go and she falls hard to the ground.

Klaus starts to transform just as Bonnie walks out of the trees and starts to kill Klaus. She chants and the flames rise and the wind whips around us. I blur over to the witch and snap her neck before she can do anything then pick Elena up. Stefan blurs over to me and takes her from my arms. "Take her to our house and don't come back." I tell him over the howling wind

"What about you?" He asks.

"I'm staying until he's dead," I say simply and Stefan nods before blurring away to our house.

Klaus screams in pain at what Bonnie is doing and I feel for him, kinda. I know how much it hurts to get an aneurism from Bonnie so I wouldn't want to be in Klaus' place right now. But that doesn't mean that I want to save him from Bonnie. The opposite is true, I want him to suffer for everything he's put our town through.

Elijah walks slowly across the clearing until he is standing in front of Klaus. Bonnie stops her chanting and stands looking satisfied at what she has done.

"Elijah," Klaus whispers in fear as he lays against a rock still weak from Bonnie's power.

"Hello brother," Elijah says then brings his right arm back and thrusts it into Klaus' chest. He grips Klaus' heart and Klaus tenses in pain. "In the name of our family, Niklaus." Elijah says and you can hear Klaus' heart tear a bit as Elijah starts to pull it from his chest.

"I didn't burry them at sea," Klaus says desperately and Elijah pauses.

I speak up over the flames before Klaus can convince Elijah anymore, "He's lying Elijah. Didn't you say that lying is all Klaus does to get out of tough situations? He's going to use your family bond to get you to let him live and then when you least expect it, he's going to stab you in the back."

Elijah looks at me and then into the flames in thought, I can see the moment that he makes a decision because he takes a breath and looks to Klaus. "I don't believe you Niklaus." Elijah says and then pulls Klaus' heart from his chest and throws it into a fire. Klaus goes rigid in pain before slumping against the ground. His eyes close and Elijah slowly stands up. Bonnie focuses on the fire until it burns white hot and after a few seconds, she brings down the flames and makes sure that his heart is gone for good.

Elijah walks over to us and simply says, "It's over, I won't bother this town again. But I do have one request for you, Bonnie."

"Yes?" She asks cautiously.

"I have some things of my siblings and I would like for you to do a quick locator spell. Klaus may have buried my family at sea but I would like to know for sure and if they aren't, I can easily find them on my own." Elijah says as he wipes his bloody hand on a handkerchief.

Bonnie nods, "I can do that. I'll meet you at the witch house tomorrow afternoon. Or I guess this afternoon since it's so early."

"Good," Elijah says and then blurs off to who knows where.

Bonnie turns back to Klaus' body and chant a few words and his body is engulfed in flames and he turns to ash before our eyes.

* * *

My house is quiet even though the lights are all on. I head inside and then upstairs and into Stefan's room where Elena is lying still without a pulse. Jenna and Alaric are standing on one side of the bed and Stefan is sitting next to Elena, holding her hand. I'm glad that I'm not pining over Elena anymore, it would only cause problems. I'm happy for Stefan and the bound he has with Elena.

"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" Jenna asks worried.

A few seconds later Elena takes in a deep breath and sits up. Her eyes are open wide and they dart around before landing on Stefan. He places both hands on either side of her face and looks deep in her eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," she says breathlessly and Jenna launches herself onto the bed and pulls Elena into a hug.

I pull out my phone and dial Bella's number from memory. I think that she should know that her sister is fine now instead of waiting until I get to the witch house to tell her. Except her phone just keeps ringing and ringing until I get her voicemail.

A bad feeling settles in the pit of my stomach and I try her phone again only to get the same thing. My stomach twists itself in knots and I blur out of the house only uttering a quick, "I'll be back later."

I run as fast as I can towards the old witch house and with each passing second the bad feeling keeps getting worse. Something is not right, something bad is gonna happen. Finally I see the house in sight but I don't slow down. My advanced hearing catches three different heart beats, two are steady and strong while the last one is weak and getting slower.

The two strong heartbeats must be Jeremy and Bella while the third one is John since he is used in the spell. He must be close to dying now that Elena has come back to life. I continue to run to the front of the house and am about to enter when John steps outside. He doesn't look surprised to see me standing there and I ask, "Shouldn't you be dying right now?"

John laughs nervously but it is forced. "Not for many years I hope."

I look at him in confusion as I realize that his heart is one of the strong beating ones. The bad feeling in my stomach gets even worse as a feeling of foreboding comes over me. "Then who was used in the spell?"

John doesn't say anything, he just looks over his shoulder into the house. If John isn't wasn't used in the spell then who was, Bella or Jeremy? Even as I finish that thought I know exactly who is in the spell. But she told me that she would stay safe and then she wouldn't take Elena's spot! My stomach drops and I blur into the house and come across a fresh trail of Bella's scent. I follow it through the house and to the back door which is open and Bella is standing out in the moonlight. Her heartbeat sounds strong to me so I slow down and just take a moment look at her before she notices me.

I can't see her face but she is so beautiful that it takes my breath away. From her long brown hair to her gentle curves and sharp mind, everything about her is beautiful to me.

"Bella," I call as her knees shake for some reason. She doesn't respond so I call her name again, "Bella!" This time she slowly looks over her should at me. I start to walk closer to her as she smiles at me and I can't help but smile back at her. God, she's beautiful. Suddenly her entire body goes rigid and her eyes shut as a look of extreme pain crosses her face. Her legs give out and she starts to fall to the ground.

I blur towards her before she can hit the ground and hold her still body against mine. "Bella? Bella, come on answer me. Bella, now's not the time to kid around." She doesn't respond so I give her a quick shake but she still doesn't wake up.

I pull one arm back and bite down on my wrist and press it against her lips, whatever made her collapse should be cured with my blood. But after a few moments I realize that she isn't taking in my blood, "Bella, drink!" I say and press my wrist harder against her lips to no avail.

My wound heals and I am just about to bite down on my wrist again when I notice something that I missed. There are no sounds coming from Bella at all, no breathing and no moving. Bella has no heartbeat.

* * *

**AN: The reason why Klaus could be turned to ash was that since Bonnie used her powers on him to put him to the brink of death and Elijah took out his heart, he was very vulnerable. His body was weak so it was easy for Bonnie to start him on fire and for Klaus' body to burn into ash. **

**Thanks for reading this chapter. Remember to review and you'll get a preview to the next chapter! Let's try for 125 reviews, okay?**


	25. Let the Sparks Fly

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! We got to the goal of 125 reviews and passed it! Thanks for all your reviewing the last couple chapters, my goal for every story is to try and get 100 reviews and I was afraid I wouldn't get that htis time. But you all have proved me wrong with your lovely reviews!**

**Thank you to the Guest reviews and I'm sorry I couldn't respond or send you all a sneak peak of this chapter but I do thank you for taking the time to review.**

**This is the second last chapter of this story and I need all of you imput on something. Should I make an epilogue or no? Tell me what you think in a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ch.23 – Let the Sparks Fly

_Let me take you into the light,_  
_There's nowhere to hide,_  
_There's nothing but darkness left here_  
_Shake it up and let's take a ride_  
_'cause heaven's not far away_  
_And I'm not gonna leave you here_

_**Let the Sparks Fly – Thousand Foot Krutch**_

**Damon Salvatore POV**

I shake my head back and forth in denial. "No, no, no!" I chant, my volume rising with each word until I'm shouting. I put two fingers to Bella's throat to feel her pulse but the lack of a pulse confirms what my ears are telling me. I can hear two strong heartbeats but they are inside the witches' house and they don't belong to Bella.

My eyes rake over Bella's still form from head to toe. She looks like she's asleep and even though I want to believe it with all my heart, I can't. Bella's face is free of stress and worry lines and looks like she's peaceful but how can she be at peace when she's gone? She couldn't have known that everything would be perfectly fine at the sacrifice. If Elijah didn't kill his brother then Bella's sacrifice would've been for nothing and she still would've been gone.

I pull Bella's body in to my lap and rock her as I beg, "Please, please don't leave me. Come back Bella, come back. You promised you'd be safe, you promised." My words register in my mind and I glare down at her. She promised me that she would be safe and what did she do? She went directly behind me and practically killed herself. How could she do that knowing that she had friends and her whole life ahead of her? Charlie will be heartbroken and Elena will be too. Elena never wanted Bella to take her place, she even told Bella that.

And what about Bella and I? I just admitted how much I liked her a few days ago and she told me that she liked me too. It's the first time that someone has actually liked me for myself and not just to manipulate me or others like Katherine did. How could she do this? Did she think that she just had nothing to live for? I swear if I ever get the chance to talk to her I'll chew her out.

My glare softens as I continue to look at her, my eyes filling to the brim with tears and then overflowing. I can never hate her, but I can hate the decisions she took and I can regret not admitting to both myself and her of my growing feelings. Now I won't ever have the chance to tell her how I really feel and it punches a whole straight through my gut. The emptiness suddenly takes my breath away as I think of my eternity without Bella with me. I only knew Bella for a few years, that is not enough, it is never enough. My fingers brush gently across her cheek and down her jaw bone to her chin. My finger tips dance over lips luscious lips, closed eyes and then brush back a lock of hair.

I won't ever be able to see her expressive brown eyes light up in excitement or anger. I won't be able to feel her warm touch anymore, even if it is just a hug. I won't hear her sweet voice that gives out such good advice for only being on this earth for eighteen years compared to my a hundred and seventy-one.

Someone walks across the back porch and down the stairs and begins to head towards me and Bella's body. I quickly wipe my cheeks to get rid of the tears and hold the rest back by shear will. Then I glance up to see John who is looking at Bella with regret but pride. Suddenly my anger comes back full force and I carefully put Bella on the ground before blurring to John.

I grab him by the collar of his jacket and pull him off the ground, "What's going on?" I roar.

John looks at me with wide eyes and sputters, "S-s-she was already used in the spell by the time that I got here, I couldn't have done anything to change it."

"What did she do?" I roar and shake him forcefully.

John takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, "She was the one who was really connected in the spell that brought Elena back to life. She just had me cover for her until the end because if you knew before she died you would've tried to stop her."

"Of course I would've, but the real question is why you didn't? You're her father so why didn't you stop her?" I ask as I toss him to the ground. "Did you ever really care for Bella or was it fake and you just loved Elena?"

John glares at me and scrambles to his feet and pushes against my chest, "I care for both of my daughters equally. It's just that everyone has to make hard choices in their lives and this was Bella's."

I grab one of John's arms and twist it behind his back until it is just at its breaking point. "You don't want to mess with me right now." I say and hold him there for a few more seconds before letting him go and turning back to Bella, scooping her into my arms. I don't give John another glance as I blur away from him and back to my house. He doesn't deserve it.

* * *

I keep my face blank of emotions and make sure that they are shoved back into the deepest corners of my heart. Telling Elena will be hard enough without my own emotions crowding in. Carefully I set Bella down on one of the couches in the living room. I would've taken her up to my room but it is still destroyed from my fight with Stefan's. "You guys better come down here." I say up the stairs to Elena and Stefan who are talking with Alaric and Jenna.

They stop their talking and come downstairs slowly and into the living room. Elena notices Bella first and she gasps when she sees the blood on her chin then Jenna and Alaric notice her. Stefan's eyes dart to Bella too and then back to mine when he realizes that she doesn't have a heartbeat.

Elena and Jenna run to Bella and Elena puts her hands on her shoulders and shakes her. "Bella, Bella, please wake up."

Stefan comes up behind Elena and puts one hand gently on her shoulder and whispers in her ear, "She's not gonna wake up Elena, she's gone."

Elena gapes at Stefan for a moment as her eyes fill with tears before shaking her head, "No, no, she can't be dead. She was fine yesterday."

Alaric walks to stand next to Jenna and wraps an arm around her waist as Jenna starts crying. Both couples turn and look at me for the answer and I say blankly, "The reason why you are alive Elena is that Bonnie found a spell that connects someone's life force to another's. We all thought that John was going to be in the spell so that when you died, you would come back to life human as his life force was drained into your body. He would then die but you would live."

Elena starts shaking her head back and forth as then tears spill over and she starts to sob, "No, she wouldn't. She promised." Stefan pulls her into his arms and she cries into his shoulder.

I continue even though Elena seems to not be listening but I know that Stefan is still listening. Same with Alaric and Jenna, Jenna may not be listening but Alaric is and both men will tell their women later. "From what John told me a few minutes ago, Bella was already in the spell when he got to the witch house."

Elena starts to cry harder into Stefan and Stefan murmurs to her softly. I look away and head down into the basement for some blood. I open up the fridge, grab a bag and freeze in thought.

Someone starts to walk downstairs as I just stand there, trying to think some things out. Bella was talking about using the elixir to save herself if she took Elena's spot in the sacrifice, so why couldn't she have still used it. I'll have to find the box, but there is a pretty good chance that she drank the elixir.

Stefan walks into the tiny room and leans against the one wall. "I know you're holding in your feelings."

I shake my head and look at him, "I'm actually thinking right now, isn't that a first?"

Stefan doesn't react to my bad attempt to change the conversation. "You don't need to hold in your feelings Damon, you can let them out. We all cared about Bella and this will hurt for a long time but it will hurt even longer if you lock up your feelings. Let them out Damon."

"No," I mutter.

"Why not?" Stefan asks.

I take the blood bag and throw it against the wall to let out some of my anger as my emotions slip. It backfires though. It seems that I grabbed Bella's same blood type and just the slightly similar smell of the blood bag to Bella's blood makes me cringe. "If I let go, I might not be able to reel them back in."

"Why's that bad?" Stefan asks, his voice hopeful now that I'm actually talking to him. Usually I'd never talk about deep things with Stefan but it feels like if I don't explain what I'll say next to someone, I'll explode. Even if it is St. Stefan.

"If Bella is really gone forever then I'll live through that pain for eternity." I start to pace and Stefan walks to me and puts his hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off.

Stefan sighs, "I can't tell you that it will get better Damon, but you will be able to deal with it better later."

Stefan's sympathizing voice gets to me and I finally snap, "Why are you helping me when you can be comforting your girlfriend? I don't need your help and I certainly don't need you giving me advice. I don't need any of you."

Stefan doesn't get angry, he just smiles sadly at me and I glare at him. "You may not need us but you needed Bella just like she needed you. You both may not have realized it but you balanced each other out. Any time you needed advice or help, you would go to Bella and she would come to you."

"Yeah and now she's gone. You worried I'm going to do something bad, brother? Maybe I'll start killing townspeople again." I ask sarcastically.

Stefan shakes his head, "No, I know you won't because Bella won't have wanted you too. If she was still alive and heard you even suggest that, she'd rip you a new one and you know that. You wouldn't want to make her angry even if she is gone."

My eyes start to well up again but I shut my eyes tight against the tears and mutter, "I should've seen her choice coming and stopped her. All the signs of what she was planning on doing were right there I just didn't pick up on them." I shake my head, open my eyes and stare at the ceiling, "Or maybe if I had gotten to her sooner, she would've told me and I could've fed her my blood."

"Damon," Stefan says and I reluctantly look at him, "it's not your fault and you can't change anything now so don't think about the what if's, they'll only drive you insane."

We stand in silence, me reluctantly thinking over his words and him trying to pick up on my thoughts. After a few minutes Stefan gives up, "We should go back upstairs."

I nod and blur up the stairs ahead of Stefan. Jenna is sitting across from Bella on the other couch with Alaric next to her, comforting her as she cries. I start to head for Bella only to remember the elixir and head to the one bookcase where Elijah put the box that holds the elixir. I quickly find the box and open it and see the weirdly shaped bottle. My hopes start to drop but there is a chance that she took the elixir and just put the bottle back. So I shake the bottle and hear the contents of it slosh. My heart drops to my stomach and I push back the pain that comes with my shattered hopes.

I should've known to not get my hopes up because whenever you get your hopes up and they come crashing down, it hurts. I slowly but the elixir back in its box and put the box back on the book shelf and turn and blur back to Bella. I quickly look her over but she still is as dead as she was when I left a few minutes ago, if not more. I pick her up and sit on the couch and put her on my lap. Elena comes back down the stairs with a bowl filled with water and a wash cloth, probably to wash the dried blood of Bella's chin and mouth.

As Elena starts to wash the blood away, Bella's right hand drops off the edge of the couch. Elena steps back slightly so I can reach Bella's hand and I pull it back onto the couch. As I do so, my fingers brush against something on Bella's finger. My eyes glance curiously at it as my fingers brush back and forth over the cool band of a ring. I flip her hand palm up for my eyes widen and I gasp as I recognize the ring. It's the same ring that John and Jeremy wear on their hand to prevent them from dying a supernatural death.

"Stefan," I call and my voice sounds chocked even to my ears.

Elena looks at what I'm seeing but can only see the band of the ring from where she is standing, "What?"

Stefan shows up and stands beside Elena, "What Damon?" Alaric then stands up and pulls Jenna with him as he stands on Stefan's other side.

I don't say anything, just turn Bella's hand so that the front of the ring is facing them. They all gasp and look at me with wide eyes. "Is it possible?" I ask quietly, hope filling my voice even though I try to fight it. Hope leads to the thoughts that Bella may be alive and if that hope crashes, it will hurt even more, just like it did when I found the full bottle of elixir.

Stefan blinks rapidly and pulls out his phone, "Maybe." He dials a number and Bonnie answers, "Bonnie, Damon found Bella just as she died but how could you have let her do it if you knew what was going to happen too her?"

"_I'm sorry Stefan but Bella knew what she was going to do and it was the only way to keep Elena human."_ Bonnie says.

My leg starts bouncing in anticipation and I motion for Stefan to hurry up. Stefan nods and says, "Yes, we know but if Bella died with a Gilbert ring on, would she come back to life?"

There is silence over the line and then Bonnie starts stuttering, _"I-I never thought of that."_

"Bonnie," Stefan says again and she seems to shake herself out of her shock.

"_Um, yes, yes technically since Bella is human and has died with a Gilbert ring on she should come back to life. But Stefan I'm not making any guarantees."_

I sigh in relief and relax into the couch and pull Bella's body into mine and just hug her in relief.

"I know. You should get John and Jeremy and come over to our house." Stefan says and then hangs up.

Elena, who didn't hear Bonnie's side of the conversation, is practically vibrating in spot. "Is she going to be okay?"

Stefan slowly nods and Elena sighs in relief, "Hopefully but Bonnie can't give any guarantees, all we really can do is wait."

Alaric crouches down up close to Bella's hand and looks intently at the ring. He reaches for it but I pull back her hand and glare at him. He raises his hands in mock surrender and he goes back to looking at the ring.

"I think that's Jeremy's ring." Ric states and I look at him in confusion. How can he tell the difference between two identical rings? "Well, John would've noticed if he's missing his ring by now but Jeremy might not."

"How did Bella get Jeremy's ring off of him then?" Elena asks and Alaric shrugs.

"Knowing Jeremy, he probably wasn't going to let Bonnie go to the sacrifice so she knocked him out. Bella might have grabbed his ring then or even earlier but I don't know."

"We'll ask her," I say simply and Stefan gives me another sympathetic look. I'm starting to hate that look.

"Damon, she might not–"

I cut Stefan off with a shake of me head as I hold Bella even closer to me, trying to keep her safe from anymore harm. "We'll ask her when she wakes up." I say firmly because Bella will wake up.

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**AN: How'd you all like that little twist? You will see what happens in the next chapter, which is also the final chapter. **

**Remember to tell me your thoughts of an epilogue in a review please! Anyone who reviews will get a sneak peak of the next chapter!**


	26. In My Remains

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed at all during this story, I'm glad you liked my story. This is officially the last chapter of this story and I'm glad with how it ended. Don't worry though, there will be an epilogue posted on Monday!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.**

**Hope you enjoy the last chapter and remember to review!**

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Ch.24 – In My Remains

_Separate, sifting through the wreckage  
I can't concentrate, searching for a message  
In the fear and pain, broken down and waiting  
For the chance to feel alive_

_Now in my remains_  
_Are promises that never came_  
_Set the silence free_  
_To wash away the worst of me_

_**In My Remains – Linkin Park**_

**Damon Salvatore POV**

Alaric, Jenna, Elena and Stefan all head back upstairs to give me privacy with Bella when she wakes up. Elena was reluctant to leave but eventually Stefan convinced her to give me some time with Bella first.

Gently I bring a hand up to Bella's face and brush away some of her hair that has fallen into her hair. I continue to just touch her face gently, loving the feel of her smooth skin against mine. My thumb accidently brushes against the side of her lips which sends a buzz of electricity travels through my body. Why didn't I ever tell Bella my real feelings for her? Maybe if I had, we wouldn't be in this position.

I almost jump out of my skin when Bella takes in a shallow breath. "Bella?" I ask as she sits up on my lap and starts panting.

"Damon?" She asks breathlessly, her eyes darting around wildly. Her wide, panic filled eyes land on me and I quietly shush her. I bring one hand up to her back and rub soft circles, holding her close to me.

"You're alright Bella, you're safe now." I murmur in her ear as I hug her impossibly tighter to me. The strong continuous thumping of her heart is now the only thing that holds me together. I never realized how lost I felt without the steady sound of her heartbeat. The mere sound relaxes the tension in my body that has accumulated since I saw her collapse last night.

Bella coughs and asks, her voice hoarse from lack of use, "What happened? Is Elena alright?"

My blood boils, the anger at her for doing something foolish, spills over. I glare down at her and whisper harshly, "You shouldn't have tricked me like that."

She glares back, not backing down. "If I had told you, you would never have allowed me anywhere near Bonnie or the sacrifice."

"And for good reason, look what you did to yourself. You killed yourself Bella, or has that fact not sunk in yet?" I ask incredulously, barely holding back the urge to shake her.

"I knew exactly what I was doing, Damon. I was protecting Elena and I knew that I was going to come back." She says stubbornly but I can see the tiny fissure of fear that she can't cover. Bella didn't know for sure that she would come back, but she hoped.

"No, you didn't. Tell me, how long did you plan to use Jeremy's ring?" I ask, knowing the answer already.

Bella looks down in guilt, "Since you asked Elijah if Elena could use it the morning before the sacrifice."

"And how long did you know you were going to be used in the spell?"

"Since the night before, but I was planning on using the elixir to come back to life. I always planned on coming back, Damon." Bella says, trying to make me understand but I don't think I ever will.

"Why did you change your mind from using the elixir to using a Gilbert ring?" I ask.

Bella bites her bottom lip for a moment, "When you asked if Elena could use a Gilbert ring the morning before the sacrifice, I realized that I could because I'm human. I had already laid out my plan but was going to use the elixir, when I thought of using a Gilbert ring I knew that it had more of a chance of working for me than an old elixir."

"How'd you get Jeremy's ring away from him?" I ask, curiously. She couldn't have taken it while he was conscious because he would've remembered but she couldn't even knock him unconscious since he's much stronger and bigger.

"Jeremy had walked in on Bonnie finishing the spell on me and was going to go and tell you or Elena but instead Bonnie knocked him out. I went and caught him and slipped the ring of his finger then."

I nod slowly; inside I'm proud at her usefulness but mad that she would risk her life. I stare at her, silently telling her to answer my questions truthfully. "Why didn't you tell anyone your full plan? I know Bonnie knew some of it, but why not all?"

Bella turns her head and looks at the fire place for a few moments before saying quietly. "If I told someone my plan and the ring still didn't work, I would've crushed their hopes. I didn't want to give false hope."

"Yes, but if someone knew and the ring still worked then we wouldn't have been so crushed you're your death because we knew there was a chance you were coming back." I argue back.

Bella is stubborn and doesn't listen to my arguments, "But if I didn't come back, it would've hurt even more. Face it Damon, I've thought this all through and you can't change my mind. Besides, what's done is done."

I'm silent for a few moments, a nagging thought buzzing loudly in my head. "You could've told me," I say softly.

Bella rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, "No I couldn't because you would've tried talking me out of it."

We are both silent, thinking over what the other said. "Why didn't you answer your phone?" I ask.

"I didn't want you specifically to watch me die," Bella blurts out and then her eyes widen. I smirk, I guess she didn't want to release that tad bit of information.

"Why me?"

Bella takes in a deep breath and holds it for a moment before letting it go. "Ever since I first met you on my first trip to Mystic Falls, I liked you – more than a close friend should've. I ignored it mostly but my feelings never disappeared, not even while I was dating Edward. Then when I moved here and was around you constantly, my feelings grew and I didn't want you to be hurt by watching me die. "

I tilt my head in confusion while inside I am smiling in happiness, "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Bella flushes red and mumbles, "Everything was so hectic around here that I could barely admit it to myself let alone you. You would never feel the same way about me though."

I sigh and shake my head, lifting a hand to caress her cheek. "Bella, I already feel the same about you. Why do you think I was so against you being in the sacrifice but was ready to let Bonnie risk her life. Or when I locked you in that janitor's closet in the high school during the 60's dance? It was because I cared about you more than anyone in my life and I didn't want you to get hurt. I kissed you after the 60's dance didn't I? Why didn't you think I liked you then?"

Bella shrugs but from the spark in her eyes I can tell that she is happy about my revelation. I continue, "I've had deep feeling about you since you listened to my story with an open mind and never judged me like others would. I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd need a vampire as a boyfriend and then after the whole Cullen disaster I didn't want you to think that I just wanted you because you were easy. You were never easy, you are stubborn, a smart ass and can highly infuriating at times but that's what I admire about you."

Bella smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. "Now that this whole adventure is over, do you like we can go out on dates?"

I smirk, "Bella, isn't the man supposed to ask that?"

She blushes again, nods but I speak again before she can speak. "Bella, will you go out with me on a normal date to the Grill for supper?"

Bella smiles back, "On two conditions, one, no one is allowed to attempt to kill you and two, if this doesn't work out we will stay friends."

I roll my eyes, knowing that there is no way I'll let her go now that I have her and nod.

"Damon?" Bella asks softly.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come to my house when you were drunk after Dr. Martin was killed?" She asks.

I think back to that day and remember all the fidgety nerves I had but they weren't for me, they were for Bella. I didn't want her to die and have to come back as a vampire; she didn't even know if that was what she wanted anymore. Then when everything was finally over I just was going to have a celebration drink that turned into two and then three.

"I had more than a few drinks in celebration and then in my drunken haze decided I wanted to see that you were safe with my own two eyes."

Bella bites her lip and looks at the ground in guilt. I raise an eyebrow and tilt my head slightly, what is she hiding? "Bella?"

She glances up at me for a split second before looking away. After a moment Bella sighs, "That night when Dr. Martin was wrecking the Grill he knocked Bonnie unconscious and I had Matt take her out and not come back in. It was only me and Caroline left and Caroline tried to bite Dr. Martin but he flung her off of him. I grabbed a piece of broken glass to stab him with but he flung me into a beam before leaving. I was almost knocked unconscious but Caroline fed me her blood to heal me before taking me home."

There's this ball of hot rage building in my chest as Bella tells me more and more. Why didn't she tell me about her injury before? Why didn't I think she could've been hurt? I should've gone there and taken her away as soon as I found out that Jonas was going to go after Elena.

Bella reaches up and touches my cheek, "Hey, it's okay. I'm perfectly fine and Dr. Martin can't hurt me anymore. So let's just let it go and forget about it, okay?"

Slowly I nod, knowing she's right.

"Why did you say that I was so hard to keep safe that night when you came over?" Bella asks, curiously.

I knew that I would have to explain this someday; Bella doesn't let things that don't make sense go easily. "I said that because it was true," Bella gasps and looks hurt but I continue on. "I didn't finish the rest of my thoughts out loud though. You may be hard to keep safe but it is worth it because you are so selfless that you want to save everyone and that I really care about you. I couldn't let you die because you were worth more to me and I couldn't bare to never see your eyes light up again."

Bella smiles softly at me, "Thanks for telling me that."

Elena, Alaric, Stefan, and Jenna all start coming down the stairs just as the front door opens and three other sets of footsteps walk towards the living room. I sigh and reluctantly move Bella from my lap to the spot on the couch beside me. Bella looks up at me, confused and slightly hurt, probably thinking that I'm already pushing her away. I smile reassuringly and say quietly to her, "The gang is all heading to us now so get ready for lots of tears, anger and hugs."

Her eyes widen but before she can say anything Elena comes tearing into the room and grabs Bella in a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Elena says before pulling back and bopping Bella on the back of the head. Elena shakes her pointer finger at Bella and says sternly, "You won't ever do anything like that for anyone ever again or you will see a side to me that you will wish you've never seen."

Bella looks at her wide-eyed and quickly nods her head and says yes. John, Bonnie and Jeremy also walk into the room and Bella is passed around the room for hugs and stern warnings. Once everyone has had the chance to really see that Bella is alive and human, she is back standing near my side.

Bella's eyes light up in realization and she grabs the Gilbert ring off the middle finger on her right hand. "Jeremy here's your ring back. Thanks for letting me borrow it." She smiles and hands it to Jeremy who smiles but rolls his eyes.

"I'm glad you had a use for it," he says and slips it back on his finger. Jeremy looks back at me, "When did you even grab it? I can't remember it even being gone."

Bella blushes, "When you first found out what Bonnie and I planned to do and she knocked you unconscious I took the ring from your finger. I was always planning on grabbing it at some point but that time was the best."

Bella takes a breath and looks at everyone for a few seconds. She sees what I see, the relief in the relaxed shoulders, and the tired eyes. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you guys what I was planning, I just didn't want you to get your hopes up if it failed. I know now that I won't do anything like that again. If I ever have a radical plan, I will tell you all and not go behind your backs. I promise."

Everyone nods gratefully and a chorus of, "Thanks yous," are heard.

I lean over and whisper in Bella's ear, "I'll keep you to it."

Bella nods and a large yawn escapes her mouth which causes her famous blush to rise to the surface.

"Well, Bella you should get some sleep and we'll talk more later." Elena says.

Bella nods, "Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you all later." Bella waves to everyone and then heads upstairs. I say my own goodbyes and follow after her, hopefully no one will need us for a few hours.

Bella starts to head towards one of the guest rooms but I grab her hand and pull her into my bedroom with me.

"Damon, I can sleep in another room, it's no big deal." Bella says and rolls her eyes at me.

I raise an eyebrow at her, "You're sleeping in here with me and that's final." I doubt she would want to sleep in jeans and a dirty T-shirt so I go and grab a black shirt of mine and some sweats that she can change into. I hand them to Bella and she quickly goes to my bathroom to change into them.

Bella walks back out and my eyes almost pop out of my head. I never realized how hot it is to see someone I really care about in my clothes. I shake those thoughts away before they turn down a dark path and take off my shoes before climbing into bed.

Bella curls up on her side of the bed facing away from me but I'm not having any of that. I turn her around and pull her into my body so that he head is resting on my chest. Bella is stiff for a moment before relaxing and letting out a small sigh.

I gently kiss the top of her head and whisper, "Go to sleep Bella, I'm so happy you're here."

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**AN: Thanks for reading this final chapter so tell me what you thought of it in a review! I'll send a preview of the epilogue to whoever that reviews.**


	27. Epilogue

**AN: This is the end of this story, it was a great ride. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or favorited me or this story! Love you all! This story did better than I ever expected it would. I mean, around chapter 17 I barely had 100 reviews and now I have well over 150 and it's all because you my amazing readers! Thanks for enjoying this story so much!**

**Unfortunately this story has completed it's arc and I won't be writing a sequel to it. I know, it's sad but I've started writing a new story that I hope you guys will like better than a sequel. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators. **

**Enjoy!**

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Ch. 25 – Epilogue

_**A Few Weeks Later**_

**Bella POV**

The final bell of my senior year of high school seems to drag by as I shift anxiously in my seat. I breezed through finals last week and today is the last official day of school but it's basically a do-nothing day. My foot starts tapping anxiously and I look towards Elena and Caroline to see them acting just like me. Since today started we have all been anxious to just be done school and go on summer vacation.

A few weeks ago Klaus, an Original vampire and brother to Elijah, tried to break his curse that stopped him from becoming a hybrid, half werewolf and half vampire. In order for Klaus to break his curse though, he had to kill a werewolf, a vampire, a doppelganger and break the curse with a moonstone. Klaus used Katherine Petrova as the vampire, Jules for the werewolf and my twin sister Elena Gilbert for the doppelganger.

I didn't want my sister to die to break a curse so I asked Elena's friend Bonnie Bennett to connect me in a life binding spell to Elena. The idea of it was that when Elena died, she would come back due to my life energy and I would take her place. Instead, I took Jeremy Gilbert's ring which only works on humans and it brought me back to life. All the time I lived in Mystic Falls before the sacrifice, I was told that I couldn't help because I was just human and that slowly chipped away at my very being until I needed to prove that I could help. I still believe that I'm only human and worthless in helping out but I will always try to prove my worth. I may not like myself all that much or be that confident but I am working on that. Thankfully my sacrifice was worth it because Elijah killed Klaus during the sacrifice and we never need to deal with Klaus again.

Elena may have been angry at me for choosing to sacrifice myself but I didn't care, I saved her life and that was the plan all along. She didn't forgive me immediately, not at all. Elena tried to start fights the first few days after the sacrifice but when she realized that I wouldn't react, she used the silent treatment. I ignored her acting out and explained my reasons for sacrificing myself multiple times but I think she finally understood why I did it when I asked her what she would've done if Jeremy was in her position.

After that Elena was more open and we developed our bond a lot more than we could when we were dealing with the Klaus problem. Elena and I also decided that we would try to understand John, our biological father, better than what we knew before. One night we actually sat down and talked everything through with John from beginning to end. Elena and I understood why he and Isobel had to give us up and why they decided to split us up. They didn't want Klaus to find us so they decided to keep one within the family still and I was adopted by an old friend, Charlie. John told me that he didn't try to contact me because he didn't want anyone to find me, especially vampires that worked for Klaus. I understood his reasons but I'm still slightly hurt that I wasn't the one kept close. I even voiced my feelings to Damon and he helped me understand that even though I was away from my biological family, I was adopted into a family that loved me and would protect me no matter what.

Damon had always been my friend since I first visited Mystic Falls two years ago and now he is my boyfriend, I think. That morning after the sacrifice, Damon had me in his arms and it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. After we spoke and said things that needed to be said, we understood each other better. I had always liked Damon as more than just a friend but I never thought that I would be possible for him to like me like that. But somehow he did and still does and makes it his duty to remind me how much he cares for me every day. I'm not sure if he's my boyfriend or not but I do know that we care for each other more than I thought possible.

We haven't said those three important words but I'm fine with that, we both went through tough break ups and need time to get to know each other better. Damon has been spending a lot of time at m house lately but then again, everyone seems to have a lot of free time lately. Now that all of our vampire problems are gone, we can finally be the normal teenagers that we want to be even if we have vampire friends.

I look up at the clock again only to see that not even five minutes have gone by and I barely suppress a groan. Today may be the last official day of school but tomorrow night will be when the official graduation ceremony takes place. I already have my cap and gown ready and I can't wait for the ceremony. Charlie is flying down early tomorrow morning so that he can see my graduation but unfortunately Renée is in California for Phil's game and won't be able to get to Virginia in time. I am slightly hurt that my own mom can't come and see me graduate but then I realized that Renée hasn't been taking care of me for a long time and she has her own wants.

The school bell rings and a triumphant yell is heard from my classroom as everyone leaps out of their chairs and races to their lockers. I follow behind the group at my own pace, so different than before in class when I wanted to race out the building. Now I just want to look at the place that I spent most of my time these last few months and try to remember it as it is.

I get to my locker just as my phone vibrates in my pocket. I quickly unlock my locker before pulling out my phone to see that Damon just texted me. _I'm right outside beautiful, _he wrote and I smile before quickly taking out the last few books I had in my locker and put them in my bag. My other books and things were already taken out of my locker yesterday and now I just have a few things left. I shut my locker with a final click before hurrying out the door to meet Damon.

I step out into the warm sunshine and bring my hand to my eyes against the harsh light. I sweep my eyes left to right before settling on Damon's Camaro with the hood down. He is leaning casually against the passenger side door and smirks at me when I look at him. I quickly jog across the school yard before stopping right in front of him.

"Hi," I whisper to Damon and I toss my bag into my seat behind him. Damon grabs my hand before it comes back to my body and tugs me hard to his body. I stumble slightly but gain my balance by grabbing onto his shoulders.

"Hello to you too," he says back and a real smile graces his face. I step up onto my tip toes and let my lips just brush against his soft ones for a second before pulling back.

Damon rolls his eyes at me, knowing how I feel about PDA because we have talked about it. "Get in the car, you're mine for the rest of the day."

I shiver at the tone of his voice as Damon steps away from the door and holds it open for me while I get into his car. He then walks to his side of the car and gets in before tearing out of the parking lot, sending my hair flying around me.

Damon motions for me to pass him his sunglasses on my side of the dash-board and I do so. As soon as Damon slips the sunglasses on starts to speak over the roaring wind, "Bella, I was wondering, since we both obviously care for each other would you want to spend eternity with me?"

I look over at Damon to see if he is serious. He doesn't smirk at me so I know he's serious and I take a moment to think. I know that I didn't want to become a vampire after Edward dumped me but the possibly to spend eternity with Damon sounds _really _good. In that moment, I know that my feelings are strong enough that I want to spend eternity with Damon but I'm not completely sure if what I feel is love. I haven't really felt what it is to be in love with another person but if the deep, almost all consuming, feelings I have for Damon are love then I'll be happy to spend eternity with him.

"Yes Damon, I would want to be changed but not now."

Damon looks at me in confusion and I explain, "I want to live for a while yet and grow a little older still. I want to go to college and see the world before being turned but maybe in a few years."

Damon smirks and nods, "I can live with that, as long as it's a yes."

I nod back, "It's a yes Damon."

The rest of the car ride is quick as Damon drives past the Grill were most of the school kids are hanging out already. He passes the old town office, Elena's house but stops across the road from the hotel that Charlie and I stayed at two years ago.

Damon gets out of the car and I slowly unbuckle myself as Damon walks over to my side of the car and opens my door. I step out and look up at him questioningly but he only smiles and grabs my left hand. He walks with me by his side towards the woods and soon we are at the spot where I first officially met Damon. As I look around I see the log that was there two years ago and the spot where the blonde girl stumbled into view.

"What are we doing here Damon?" I ask him as I turn to him.

He lets go of my hand, sits of the log and pats the spot next to him. I sit next to him quietly and wait for him to say something. He twists his daylight right around and around his finger while he thinks before saying, "When I first saw you sitting here I think I unconsciously knew that you were going to be very important to me." Damon looks down at me, his blue eyes burning with sincerity. "And when I told you my story, I thought for sure you were going to run away and call me a monster." Damon looks back to his hands and chuckles to himself and whispers, "but you didn't. In the years after and to this day, you haven't tried once to change who I was. Sure, we'd argue when you knew you were right but you never once tried to change my identity. I don't think you know how important that is to me Bella." Damon finishes and looks up at me.

My heart clenches at his words and I'm suddenly completely sure of my feelings for this man. I love him, faults and all and I know by the way he is looking at my right now that he loves me too. My hands reach up and I cup his face gently in my hands. "I know Damon because who you are is the person that I care about and no one else. If you were nicer or less protecting, you wouldn't be the man that I've fallen in love with."

I hold my breath after my words, hoping that I'm right and he does love me or the rejection may just kill me. Damon smiles widely at me and one of his hands grip the back of my neck while the other grips my left hip. He leans down and kisses me softly first and then more aggressively. His smooth lips move over mine again and again as I pull him impossibly closer to me. Damon's tongue licks at my bottom lip and I open my mouth to let him in. His tongue starts a battle of dominance with mine but of course he wins and he lightly nips at my bottom lip. I can taste cooper in my mouth and it seems like Damon has cut open my lip. Damon growls as he tastes the blood before pulling my bottom lip into his mouth and sucking gently.

Too soon, Damon pulls away and we are both panting hard, Damon with a tad bit of my blood still on his lips. Damon leans his forehead against mine as we sit in silence and he whispers, "I love you too Bella. I always will, I promise."

In this moment I believe that anything and everything that I've gone through in my life is worth it. My parent's splitting up, Edward breaking up with me, moving to Mystic Falls and sacrificing myself was all worth it, as long as I get to spend the rest of my life with Damon the one person who loves me with all my faults.

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**AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the final chapter! I will be marking this story as complete now but remember to review please. Anyone who reviews will get a sneak peak of the new story I'm working on! Once again thanks for reading this story, I hope you all enjoyed it. **


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